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<0L.  DIVID  FANNING.^ 


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WHIG  AND  TORY  OFFICERS — COLONEL  DAVID  FAN'KIXG  HIS 
EARLY  LIFP:. 

Revolutionary  times  not  only  "  try  men's  souls,  *' 
Lilt  test  their  priiiciples  and  develope  their  chn meter 
When,  society  is  resolved  into  its  original  elements 
and  there  is  no  master  spirit  to  control  the  perturbed 
and  excited  mass  ;  when,  for  the  present,  all  law  and 
government  are  virtually  set  aside,  except,  perhaps, 
martial  law,  which  can  neither  take  cognizance  ot  all 
the  cases  of  wrong  that  occur,  nor  reach  the  .whole  of 
a  large  community  scattered  over  a  widely  extended 
territory;  and  when  every  one,  feeling  that  ''  where 
there  is  law  there  can  he  no  transgression/'  does  as  he 
])leases  and  gives  f u  1  scope  to  his  good  or  bad  passions,  as 
the  one  or  the  other  may  happen  to  be  prevalent,  a  man 
may  become  as  much  distinguished  by  his  vices  as  by  his 
virtues, — by  a  course  ot  rapine,  murder,  and  atrocious 
villanies,  as  by  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels  wherever  they 
may  be  needed,  or  by  his  deeds  of  valor  on  the  field  of 
battle.  In  the  war  of  the  Revolution  in  this  country, 
which  resulted  in  the  unprecedented  freedom  and 
].rosperity  which  we  enjoy,  the  patriots  of  that  day,  who 
toiled  and  suffered  and  shed  their  blood  in  the  cause  of 
independence,  in-scribed  their  names  indelibly  on  the  rolls 
of  fame;  and,  w^hile  the  world  stands,  will  command  the 
veneration  and  gratitude  of  mankind;  but  there  were 
others  wdio  were  then  about  as  conspicuous,  and  who,  by 
an  opposite  course,  have  rendered  their  names  quite  as 
immortal. 

Of  this  latter  class,  son>e  of  whom  were  to  be  found  in 
every  State  of  the  confederacy.  Col.  David  Fanning  stood 
pre-eminent  in  Xortli  Carolina;  but  when  we  consider 
his  origin  and  his  early  life,  we  cannot  be  so  much  sur- 
l)rised  at  his  after  course.  With  a  native  intellect  whicii, 
under  proper  culture,  w^ould  have  made  him  prominent 
anywhere  or  in  any  cause,  his  powers  were  developed 
under  the  influence  of  poverty,  disease  and  neglect,  with- 
out early  instruction  or  example,  and  without  any  moral 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  6 

or  religions  training.  Regarded,  it  seems,  wherever 
known"  as  an  outcast  from  genteel  society,  he  never  re- 
ceived any  favors,  or  had  any  kind  attentions  paid  him 
except  from  pity  on  account  of  his  forlorn  condition, 
lender  these  circumstances,  those  strong  feelings  which 
usually  accompany  a  vigorous  intellect,  instead  of  being 
softened  and  directed  into  the  proper  channel  by  the  hal- 
lowing influences  of  religion,  or  even  by  the  courtesies 
and  bland  influences  of  intelligent  and  refined  society, 
wore  embittered  and  strengthened  for  evil  by  the  ungra- 
cious treatment  which  he  received,  and  afterwards,  by 
impelling  him  to  the  commission  of  crimes  which  spread 
sorrow  and  distress  over  the  country,  gave  iiim  a  most 
unenviable  notoriety,  and  made  his  name,  not  only  from 
that  time  to  the  present,  but  for  generations  to  come,  a 
reproach  and  a  by- word  of  infamy 

In  tlie  Utiiversity  Magazine,  for  March,  1853,  there  is 
an  interesting,  communication  from  Governor  Swain,  in 
which  he  gives  the  following  summarv  account  of  Fann- 
ing's  birth-place,  his  early  life,  and  his  entrance  on  his 
military  career.  David  Fanning  was  lK)rii  of  obscure  pa- 
rents, in  the  county  of  Wake,  about  the  year  1754,  and 
apprenticed  to  a  loom  maker.  lie  removed  to  Obatham 
\\\  1778  and  followed  his  trade  until  the  occupation  of. 
Wilmington ,bv  Major  Craig,  presented  other  prospects  to 
iiis  imagination.  Very  shortly  thereafter,  clad  in  a  long 
v/hite  hunting  shirt,an(i  mountedon  a  common  draft  horse, 
he  was  fouuM  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  marauders,  not 
more  than  8  or  10  in  number.  His  head-quarters  were,  to 
^ome  extent,  at  the  house  of  John  Reins  on  Brush  creek; 
but  he  had  no  horse,  seldom  lodged  in  a  house,  generally 
passed  his  nights  in  solitary  and  untrequented  places, 
sometimes  with  companions,  but  more  frequently  alone. 
He  and  his  colleagues  were  spoken  of  as  ''  out  liers". 
His  first  marauding  expedition  is  said  to  have  been  to 
l>eep  river;  and  the  earliest  sufferers  from  his  rapacity  and 
violence,  were  Charles  Shearing,  and  Captains  Duck  and 
Dye.  He  went  to  Shearings'  in  the  night,  shot  him  as  he 
ran  from  the  house,  took  his  gun.  scoured  the  neighbor- 
hood and  returned  to  Reins'.  His  energy,  capacity,  and 
courage  were  duly  appreciated  by  Major  Craig,  who  app(^i- 
nted  him  Colonel  of  the  loyal  mliitia  ol  Randolph  and 
<Jhatham,  clothed  him  in  British  uniform  and  presented 
him  a  sword  and   holster   of  pistols.     An   old   royalist, 


4  REVOLUTIONARY    INCIDENTS. 

named  Liiidlv,  crave  bim  a  m-are  ealled  the  "Red  Doe," 
from  her  peculiar  color.  This  animal,  whose  blood  is  still 
traced  and  hii^^hly  estimated  at  the  present  day,  became 
subsequently  almost  as  famous  as  her  master.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  episods  in  Fanuinir's  history  relates  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  he  lost  her/' 

We  have  given  the  above  extract  entire,  partly  because 
the  well  known  accuracy  of  the  writer  in  every  thingthat 
relates  to  North  Carolina  history,  entitles  it  to  high  coji- 
sideration,  and  partly  because  it  brings  before  us  in  a  small 
space  the  leading:  events  of  Fannino:'b  earlv  life.  It  difil-rs 
considerably,  however,  in  some  particulars,  from  the  acco- 
unts which  I  had  previously  obtained  from  other  sources; 
but  on  a  subject,  for  the  knowledge  of  which  we  have  all 
li)  rely,  for  the  most  part,  on  traditionary  statements, 
some  discrepancies,  at  least  in  circumstances  of  minor 
importance,  are  to  be  expected;  and  we  shall  just  state 
sucH  facts,  in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  as  rest  on  the 
authority  of  those  whose  opportunities  for  ascertaining 
the  truth  were  good,  and  who  had  made  it  their  business 
to  investigate  the  subject. 

Several  of  the  following  pages  are  taken,  in  substance, 
from  the  papers  of  Mr.  McBride;  but  as  those  })apers  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  very  short  notes,  something  like  a  law- 
yers ''brief,"  I  have  not  u-^ed  the  quotation  marks.  As 
he  collected  his  materials  some  twenty-five  years  ago,  more 
or  less,  he  must  have  had,  at  that  time,  great  facilities  for 
ascertaining  the  trutli;  and  from  his  habits  of  legal  inves- 
tigation we  might  expect  that  his  inquiries  on  this  subject 
would  be  conducted  with  something  of  the  same  precision. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  many  of  his  papers  were  lost; 
but  I  imagine  that  most  of  what  related  to  the  birth-place 
of  Fanning  and  to  his  history  until  he  became  a  British 
officer,  has  been  preserved;  and  although  no  one  could 
write  off  these  notes  as  he  would  have  done  himself,  since 
he  could  have  supplied  much  from  memory  and  from 
farther  in^juiries  as  he  progressed,  yet  we  feel  gratified 
that  we  have  so  many  of  the  main  focts.  lie  tells  us  that 
he  got  his  information  from  Jam<  s  Johnson,  a  man  whom 
he  considered  as  good  authority;  and  therefore  it  would 
seem  that  his  statements  ought  to  be  regarded  as  altogeth- 
er reliable,  dohnson  was  the  nephew  of  John  O'Deniell, 
with  whom  Fanning,  when  a  mere  youth,  lived  for  two  or 
three  years;  and  of  course,  he  had  a  good  opportunity  of 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  5 

becoming  acquranted  with  his  history.  He  told  McBiide 
that  ahhough  he  was  onl}'  eight  or  nine  years  old  when 
Fanning  came  into  Ins  uncle's  family,  fee  had  a  distinct 
recollection  of  him,— his  appearance,  condition  and  deport- 
ment; that  he  was  at  his  uncle's  house  most  of  the  time 
that  Fanning  was  there;  and  that  he  had  often  heard  the 
facts  related  afterwards  by  his  uncle,  who  was  still  living 
at  the  time  when  he  gave  Mr.  McBride  this  information. 

Without  assuming  any  further  responsibility  than  to 
give  the  facts  thus  obtained,  and  to  inlorm  the  reader  of 
the  source  whence  they  were  derived,  w^e  proceed  with 
the  narrative.  According  to  these  papers,  David  Fanniiig 
was  born  in  Johnson  County,  then  a  part  of  Wake,  in 
the  year  1756  or  1757,  and  of  low  parentage.  When  a 
boy,  he  was  bound  to  a  Mr.  Bryant,  of  that  County,  from 
whom  he  ran  away  when  he  was  about  16  or  17  years  ot 
age;  and  after  v,andering  over  the  country  for  some  tim.e 
on  foot,  he  came  to  the  house  ot  John  O'Deniell,  who  Uv- 
ed  in  Orange  County,  a  little  below  the  Ilawfield  settle- 
ment. Fanning  stated  to  Mr.  O'Deniell,  as  his  reason 
tor  leaving  his  master,  that  he  had  treated  him  with  great 
severity  and  neglect,  making  him  live  in  the  woods  to 
take  care  ot  his  cattle,  and  without  comfortable  food  or 
clothing.  O'lJeniell  took  him  in,  merely  from  feelings  of 
com[»assion ;  for  he  was  a  miserable  object,  being  almost 
naked,  and  what  clothes  he  had  on  were  ragged  and  dirty. 

He  had  also  the  scald  head,  or  tetter  worm,  which  had 
been  neglected,  until  it  had  taken  the  hair  all  off  his  head, 
except  perhaps  a  very  little  low  dow^n  about  the  neck, 
which  had  to  be  cut  off;  and  the  smell  was  so  offensive 
that  he  never  eat  at  the  table  with  the  family  and  never 
slept  in  a  bed.  In  fact,  he  seemed  to  be  so  conscious  of  this 
himself  that  he  was  unwilling,  even  if  he  had  been  per- 
mitted, either  to  eat  or  sleep  with  other  people  until  he 
could  get  better  clothing  and  be  cured  of  his  disease.  By 
the  kind  attentions  ot  Mrs.  O'Deniell  and  the  family,  he 
wds  cured  of  the  tetter,  but  having  lost  his  hair,  he  always 
wore  a  silk  cap  on  his  head  under  his  hat;  and,  it  is  said, 
that  his  most  intimate  friends  never  saw  his  head  bare. 
While  here,  he  learned  to  read  and  write  a  little,  and  this 
opened  to  him  sources  ot  information  and  furnished  him 
with  a  medium  of  communication  without  which  he  never 
could  have  pursued  a  course  so  reproachful  to  himself  and 
socalamitous  to  the  country.  He  seemed  to  be  very  grate- 


6  REVOLUTIONARY  IXCIDEXT3. 

iul  to  O'Denioll  and  the  tiuinly  for  the  kindness  which 
thev  hadsliown  him.  He  c-on^ducted  himselt,  while  there, 
with  a.s  much  propriety  as  coukl  l)e  expected:  and  he  often 
s].oke  of  them  in  alter  life  with  great  respect.  While 
living  there,  he  may  have  worked  at  his  trade  of  bnilding 
houses  or  making  looms,  hs  Governor  Swain  has  stated; 
hut  he  is  said  to  have  been  famous  for  his  skill  ajid  dex- 
terity in  breaking  or  taming  wild  horses,  which  nobody 
else  could  manage.  Stout  of  his  age,  and  being  afraid  of 
nothing,  he  coutd,  in  a  little  time,  subdue  the  most  frac- 
tious and  unmanagealde  horse  that  came  in  his  way. 

In  the  course  ot  two  or  three  years, when  he  was  about 
nineteen,  more  or  less,  he  went  into  South  Carolina,  and 
got  in  with  William  O'Deniell,  a  brother,  I  presume,  or 
near  relative  of  his  former  benefactor,  who  lived  on  the 
Pedee,  in  South  Carolina,  and  near  the  north  line.  There 
he  commenced  Indian  trader,  and  was  carrying  on  a  gain- 
ful traffic  with  the  Catawba  Lidians,  by  exchanging  guns, 
calicoes,  beads  and  such  articles  as  suited  their  fancy,  for 
their  turs  and  deerskins,  wdiich  he  carried  on  puck  horses 
to  the  sea  port  towns,  and  sold  them  for  a  very  handsome- 
profit;  but  he  had  not  more  than  tairly  embarked  in  this 
gainful  buisness,  when  the  difficulties  witlj  England  com- 
menced. At  first  lie  declared  himselt"a  Whig;  but  on  his 
return  from  one  of  hi^  trading  expeditions,  he  was  met  by 
a  little  party  of  lawles  fellows,  who  called  themselves 
Whigs,  and  robbed  him  of  every  thing  he  had.  Without 
waitini;'  to  inquire  whether  they  really  belonged  to  the 
Whig  party  or  were  a  mere  set  of  desperadoes,  having  no 
settled  principles,  and  with  no  object  but  plunder,  he  at 
once  changed  sides;  and  in  the  impetuosity  and  violence 
of  his  temper  swore  vengeance  on  the  whole  of  the  Whig 
party. 

From  his  subsequent  history,  it  appears  that  he  kept 
his  w(n*d,  or  his  oath,  with  the  most  rigid  fidelity:  for, 
whenever  and  wherever  an  opportunity  occuretl.  his  vin- 
dictive spirit  was  gratified  to  the  full  extent  of  his  power; 
and  lienceforth  we  find  him  engaged,  with  unremittiuij 
ardor  in  destroying  tlie  lives  and  property  of  his  enemies. 

lie  then  joined  the  Tories  on  the  Pedee;  and,  it  is  said, 
tliat  he  was,  for  some  time  associated  with  the  famous 
Colonel  MeGirth.  As  they  seem  to  have  been  kindred 
spirits,  and  to  have  i-esembled  each  other  very  much  in 
some  of  the  most  iniportant  events  of  their  life,  we  copy, 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  7 

for  the  gratiilcation  of  our.readers,  the  following  account 
of  McGirth,  from  Johnson's  Traditions  and  Reminiscences 
of  the  war  in  the  South: —  • 

''Daniel  McGirth  was  a  respectable  young  man,  a  native 
of  Kirshaw  District,  nearly  related  to  the  Canteys  of  that 
neii>:hborhod.  lie  had  married  a  very  amiable  lady  ot 
Sumter  District,  aunt  of  the  late  much  respected  Matthew 
James,  Esq.  McGirth,  from  his  early  attachments  and 
associates,  joiaed  with  his  father  and  relatives  cordially  in 
opposition  to  the  claims  ot  the  British  government. 
Being  a  practised  hunter  and  excellent  rider,  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  woods  and  roads  and  paths  in  that 
extensive  range  of  country,  extending  from  Sanree  river 
to  the  Catawba  nation  on" the  east  of  AVateree  river.  He 
was  highly  va'uable  to  the  Americans  for  the  facility  with 
which  he  acquired  intormation  of  the  enemy,  and  for  the 
accuracy  and  minuteness  with  which  communicated  what 
he  had  obtained.  He  had  brought  with  him  into  the  sei- 
sice  a  favorite  mare,  his  own  property,  an  elegant  animal, 
on  which  he  felt  safe  from  pursuit,  when  engaged  in  the 
dangerous  but  important  duties  of  a  scout ;  he  called  her 
the  Grey  Goose.  This  line  mare  was  coveted  by  one  of 
the  American  officers,  at  Satilla,  in  Georgia,  who  tried 
various  means  to  obtain  possession  of  her,  all  (3t  which 
were  opposed  by  McGirth,  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  she 
was  essentially  necessary  to  the  American  interest,  in  the 
duties  pertormed  by  him;  and  without  her  he  could  no 
longer  engage  in  them.  The  officer  continuing  urgent,  Mc- 
Girth said'or  did  something  to  get  rid  of  him,  which  he  might 
have  intended  only  as  a  personal  rebuff,  but  probably  was 
much  more.  Ho  was  arrested,  tried  by  a  court  martial ,  found 
guilty  of  violating  the  rules  and  articles  of  war,  and  sen- 
tenced to  the  public  whipping-post,  for  a  breach  of  subor- 
dination, which  could  not  be  overlooked  in  an  army.  He 
suffered  tlie  whipping  and  exposure,  and  was  again  com- 
mitted to  prison,  waiting  to  receive  another  whipping 
according  to  his  sentence.  While  thus  situated  he  saw 
his  favorite  mare,  observed  wliere  she  was  picketed,  and 
immediately  began  to  concert  measures  for  his  escape,  and 
the  repossession  of  his  mare.  He  succeeded  in  both, 
and,  when  seatedjon  her|back,he  turned  dehberately  round, 
notwithstanding  the  alarm  at  his  escape,  and  denounced 
vengeance  against  all  the  Americans  for  his  ill-treatment. 
He   executecl  his  threats  most  fully,  most  fearfully,   most 


8  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

vindicliv.ely.  Induliring  this  sava2:e,  vindictive  temper, 
was  indeed  productive  ot  great  injury  to  the  American 
cause,  and  of  much  public  and  private  sufi-ering.  but  it 
was  also  the  cause  of  his  own  ruin  and  misery.  AVhen  the 
State  was  again  recovered  by  the  American  army,  he  still 
kept  in  the  woods,  retreated  intc)  Georgia,  and  thence  into 
Florida.  When  Florida  was  reconveyed  to  the  Spaniards, 
by  the  treaty  of  peace,  he  became  subject  to  their  laws  or 
suspicions,  was  arrested,  and  confined  by  them  live  years 
in  one  of  their  damp  dungeons  in  the  Castle  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, where  his  health  was  totall}'  destroyed.  When  dis- 
charged from  St.  Augustine,  he  with  much  difficulty  i-e- 
turned  to  his  wife  in  Sumter  District.  McGirth's  father 
was  a  captain  in  the  South  Carolina  militia  at  the  time  of 
his  son's  defection,  but  continued  firmly  and  devotedly  at- 
tached to  the  interests  of  his  country." 

How  long  Fanning  continued  with  McG.rth,  and  in 
what  deeds  of  atrocity  he  was  engaged,  we  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining;  but  from  his  connection  with  one  who  was 
not  only  his  equal,  if  no  more,  in  native  capacity  and  ener- 
gy of  character,  but  greatly  his  superior  in  education  and 
in  his  knowledge  of  the  ways  and  means  of  doing  harm  in 
8uch  a  country  and  in  such  a  state  ot  things  as  then  exis- 
ted, we  may  suppose  that  he  was  much  better  prepared 
than  he  would  otherwise  have  been  for  the  course  which 
he  subsequentl}^  pursued.  It  was  probably  the  best  school 
for  developing  and  maturing  the  original  elements  of  his 
character  that  he  could  have  found;  and,  judging  from 
his  achievments  in  this  State,  not.  long  after,  we  may  infer 
that  he  must  have  made  uncommon  proficiency.  Accor- 
ding to  McBride's  papers  and  most  other  accounts  which 
I  have  had,  he  is  not  known  to  have  been  in  North  Caro- 
lina from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  or  a  little  before  it, 
until  the  beginning  of  the  year  1781,  when  he  came  into 
the  State  along  with  the  British  army  under  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  or  about  the  same  time;  but  he  did  not  continue 
witli  it;  nor  did  he,  for  some  time,  hold  any  commission 
or  have  any  men  properly  under  his  command. 

From  his  natural  temper,  and  from  his  early  habits,  he 
was  a  sal  juris  kind  of  a  man,  and  neither  knew  nor  cared 
much  al'K)ut  the  military  rules  and  tactics  of  modern  war- 
fare. Me  could  not  be  subjected  to  the  strictness  of  mili- 
tary discipline,  nor  was  he  calculated|for  the  slow  and  mea- 
sured movements  of  rcs^ular   armies.     His   irascible'  and 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  9 

vindictive  temper  could  not  endure  ;he  custom  of  civiliz- 
ed nations  in  showino;  humanity  to  the  conquered,  and  m 
.nvino-  ,>rotection  to  the  feeble.    He  gloried  not  in  success, 
becausi  he  believed  it  to  be  necessary  to  the  weltare  ot  his 
country,  nor  in  the  triumph  of  valor  on  the  field  ot  honest 
contest,  but  in  the  capture  and  extermination  of  his  eiie- 
inies      A  strano:er  to  that  manly  courage  which  is  sustain- 
ed and  o'uided  by  great  moral  principles,  he  was  just  fitt- 
ed for  the  course  which  he  pursued,  theguenl  a  mode  of 
warfare,  in  which  there  have  been   few  m   modern  times 
who  have  surpassed  him,  either  in  the  rapidity  of  his  luoye- 
ments,  or  in  the  number  and  atrocity  of  his  deeds      \V  ith 
the  astuteness  of  the  Indian  and  the  fleetnessot  the  Arab 
with  a  constitution  capable  of  bearing  almost  any  amount 
of  toil;  and  with  a  patience  of  hunger  and  fatigue  worthy 
of  any  cause,  he  might  be  said  to  be  always  on  horseback 
and  always  in  motion.  He  was  often  upon  his  enemies  when 
thev  were  least  expecting  it;  and,having  accomplished  Ins 
IHir'pose  of  death  or  devastation,  he  was  gone  l^efore  their 
friends  could  rally.     Often,  when  supposed  to  be  at  a  dis- 
tance, the  alarm  of  his  presence  in    a    neighborhood    was 
communicated  bv  the  smoke  (^f  burning    houses    and   by 
the  cries  of  frio:htened  and  Hying  women  and  children. 

In  the  comnmnicaticm  to  the  University  Magazine,  al- 
ready noticed.  Governor  Swain  says,  that  '  he  removed  to 
Chatham  in  1778,  and  f\:>llowed  his  trade  until  the  occu- 
pation of  Wilmino-ton,  by  Major  Craig,  presented  other 
v.rospects  to  his  imaj^ination,"  but  takes  no  notice  of  his 
ioino-  into  South  Carolina,  and  was  proV)ably  not  aware 
of  tlfe  fact.  There  is  however  no  real  contradiction  or  dis- 
crepancv  between  his  statement  and  the  one  ^yhlc•h  1  have 
made  on  the  authority  of  McBride's  papers;  for  banning 
mav  have  returned  to  Chatham  sooner  than  was  known  to 
McBride  or  his  correspondents,  and  may  have  vvorked  at 
his  trade  for  a  short  time;  but,  having  been  with  Mcbirth 
in  South  Carolina,  and  engaged  in  the  bold  and  vindictive 
operations  ofthat  adventurous  spirit,  it  is  not  probable 
that  he  would  a^ain  engage  unless  from  necessity  or  con- 
siderations of  policy,  in  the  dull  business  of  bmldmg  hou- 
ses or  making  looms,  so  uncongenid  to  his  nature,  so  for- 
ei--n  from  his  settled  purposes,  and  so  much  below  the 
ambitious  aspirings  which  had  now  got  the  ascendency  m 

his  mind.  _^         11-21  •   f- 

So  far  as  my  enquiries  had  gone,  I  could  find  no  inti- 


10  REVOLUTIONARY    INCIDENTS. 

mation  of  bis  being  in  Nortb  Carolina,  after  tbe  begin- 
ijing  of  the  war,  until  February  25tb.  1781,  when  he  was 
at  Pj'le's  famous  '4iacking  match,"  on  that  memorable 
(lay,  but  held  no  commission,  and  of  course  from  the  i)e- 
culiar  circumstances  of  that  whole  affair  he  could  take  no 
part,  unless  he  had  stood  in  the  ranks  and  submitted  like 
the  rest  to  be  hacked  into  pieces,  which  was  not  according 
to  his  taste,  and  he  was  not  to  be  caught  in  sucli  a  tra[). 
When  Col.  Lee,  at  the  head  of  his  Legion,  was  riding  along 
the  line  ot  deluded  Tories,  who  had  been  drawn  up  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  Colonel  Tarleton,  as  they  suppo- 
sed, and  were  shouting  •4iara  for  King  George,"  Fanning 
called  out  to  them  repeatedly  that  those  men  were  the 
American  cavalry,  and  not  the  British;  but,  as  General 
Green  with  his  whole  army  had  run  outof  tl)e  IState  only 
a  few  days  before,  and  as  the  British  army,  apparently 
exulting  in  its  power,  was  so  near,  they  could  not  believe 
that  an  American  corps  would  (bire  to  show  itself  almost 
in  sight  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  warnii]gs  were  in  vain. 
When  he  saw  that  his  etiorts  to  undeceive  them  were  of 
no  avail,  he  withdrew  to  a  place  of  safety  where  he  could 
see  the  commencement  of  the  havoc  made  on  his  friends; 
but  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  their  destruction  was  inevitable, 
he  prudently  fted  and  took  care  for  his  own  safety.  It,  on 
that  day,  so  fatal  to  the  Tories  and  so  auspicious  to  the 
cause  of  American  freedom,  the  command  had  de- 
volved on  Fanning  instead  of  Colonel  Pyle,  the  result 
would  probably  have  been  very  different;  but  an  all- wise 
Providence  ordered  otherwise,  and  we  have  reason  to  re- 
joice in  this  development  ot  his  benignant  and  unchan- 
ging purposes. 

A  crisis  was  now  approaching  in  the  long  and  arduous 
struggle  for  independence.  Throughout  the  State,  all  in- 
teligent  and  reflecting  men,  on  both  sides,  were  expecting 
and  desiring  a  general  battle,  which  it  was  believed  would 
either  give  the  British  forces  a  complete  ascendency  in 
the  South,  or  turn  the  tide  so  much  against  them  tluxt  fur- 
ther efforts  on  their  part  would  be  useless.  The  discom- 
fiture of  the  Tories,  under  Colonel  Pyle,  may  be  regarded 
as  a  fortunate  prelude  to  the  battle  which  was  fought  a 
few  days  after  near  Martinville,  at  which  we  presume  Col. 
Fanning  was  present.  The  probability  is  that,  after  Pyle's 
defeat,  he  either  fell  in  with  the  British  army  until  after 
the  battle,  or  "mounted  on  a   common  draft   horse,"  and 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  11 

attended  by  a  few  followers,  daring  and  reckless  spirits 
like  himself,  he  was  ranging  thr()u.j;h  the  country  plunder- 
ing provisions  for  his  foreign  friends,  giving  them  whatev- 
er information  he  could  obtain,  and  producing  terror  and 
distress  aai3ng  the  inhabitants.  VVhile  the  British  lay 
in  Hillsborough,  according  to  tradition,  he  committed  a 
number  of  depredations  and  cruelties  in  the  Northwest 
part  of  the  county,  but  of  all  that  we  have  no  certain  in- 
formation. 

Whether  he  was  at  the  Guilford  battle  or  not  is  a  matter 
of  little  consequence.  It  is  known  that  soon  after,  and 
for  some  time,  he  had  his  residence  on  or  near  Deep  river, 
and  about  the  mouths  of  Brush  and  Richland  creeks,  where, 
remaining  for  a  few  weeks  in  cog^  he  took  up  his  lodgings 
sometimes  under  the  open  canopy  of  heaven,  but  oftener 
in  the  humble  dwelling  of  John  Rains,  who  afterwards 
became  a  major  in  his  corps,  and  one  of  his  most  efficient 
men.  Why  he  never  appeared  in  public  nor  made  him- 
scif  known,  would  be  useless  to  enquire.  Whether  he  was 
only  maturing  his  plans  for  future  operations,  or  was 
waiting  for  a  commission  from  British  jinthority,  without 
which  he  could  not  act  so  efficiently,  for  which  the  initia- 
tory steps  h  id,  no  doubt,  been  taken,  was  probably  known 
only  to  himself,  or  at  most  one  or  two  others.  If  he  en- 
tered upon  his  career  without  a  commission  he  must 
have  had  assurance  that  he  might  expect  one  in  case  he 
proved  his  loyalty  to  the  king,  and  his  fitness  for  comm- 
and. I  had  understood,  many  years  ago,  that,  though  he 
did  not  receive  a  formal  commission,  he  got  ample  encour- 
agement from  Lord  Cornwallis  himself;  and,  as  he  had 
probably  given  his  lordship,  some  evidence  of  his  valor 
and  of  his  devotion  to  the  royal  cau-^e,  either  at  Clapp's 
mill  or  at  Martinville;  on  the  strength  of  this  encourage- 
ment he  commenced  operations. 

According  to  the  recolleciions  of  the  old  people  in  that 
region,  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Mc Bride  .obtained  his  infor- 
mation, his  first  appearance  in  public  was  at  a  church  or 
meetinghouse,  where  the  people  had  met  on  the  Sabbath 
for  public  worship,  and  his  success  was  as  great,  perhaps, 
as  he  could  have  expected.  He  either  did  not  arrive  un- 
til about  the  close  of  the  services,  or  he  had  kept  out  of 
view;  but  when  the  people  came  out  of  the  house,  he  was 
the  first  object  that  attracted  their  attention.  Being  an 
entire  stranger,  and  somewhat  singular  in  his  appearance, 


12  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

every  eye  was  Hxed  upon  him,  and  they  were  all  enquir- 
ing, one  ot  another,  who  was  that  stranger.  He  had  no 
do'ubt  been  well  informed,  before  he  ome.  respecting  the 
character  and  sentiments  of  the  people  there,  and  knew 
that  he  was  among  friends;  for  he  appeared  to  be  per- 
fectly at  his  ease.  Probably  he  had  been,  for  sometime, 
exerting  an  inliuence  through  the  agency  of  his  friend 
Rains,  and  finding  that  things  were  ready  for  the  disclo- 
sure of  his  purposes,  lie  had  boldly  taken  this  step.  At 
all  events  he  did  not  keep  them  long  in  suspense,  for  he 
soon  let  them  know  that  his  name  was  Fanning,  and  that 
he  had  been  authorized  by  the  king  to  raise  as  many  men 
as  he  could  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  his  majesty  to  sup- 
press the  rebellion  and  to  maintain,  his  government.  A 
man  of  strong  intellect  and  of  great  apparent  confidence  in 
the  Justness  and  success  of  the  cause  in  which  he  is  engag- 
ed, hardly  ever  fails  to  sway  the  minds  of  tlie  multitude: 
and  so  it  was  on  the  present  occasion. 

By  discanting,  with  an  air  of  confidence  atid  much 
earnestness,  on  the  irresistible  progress  of  the  British 
arms,  and  the  immense  resources  of  that  nation,  th^ 
cruelties  of  the  Whig  companies  which  came  into  that 
region,  and  the  injustice  of  the  confiscations  to  which 
the  property  of  the  loyalists  has  been  subjected, 
the  hopelessness  of  the  American  cause,  and  the 
pitialde  condition  of  the  American  forces,  half  naked, 
half  starved  and  utterly  dispirited  by  defeat,  he  so 
worked  upon  their  fears  or  strengthened  their  pre- 
possessions that  a  number  joined  him  on  the  spot,  and 
this  number  was  gradually  increased  as  he  continued 
his  exertions  and  became  more  known  over  the 
country.  All  congenial  spirits, — men  who,  like  him- 
self, delighted  in  bold  adventure  and  deeds  of  cruelty, 
rallied  round  his  standard  without  any  hesitation,  while 
the  idle  and  dissolute,  who  were  impatient  of  the  restraints 
imposeil  by  wholesome  laws  rigialy  enforced,  and  who 
would  rather  live  by  stealth  and  rapine  than  in  the  way  of 
an  h«)norable  industry,  were  easily  induced  to  follow  his 
fortunes 

We  shall  not  undertake  to  write  his  biography,  nor 
to  give  in  full  tale  his  deeds  of  robbery,  devastation  and 
wanton  barbarity.  To  do  that  would  require  a  volume 
of  ampler  size,  and  an  abler  pen  than  mine.  The  time, 
during  which  his  operations  were  carried    on,   was  short, 


COL.  DAVID  FANNINGw  13 

only  about  eighteen  moiitlis,  more  or  less;  but  bis  plans 
were  executed,  and  his  deeds  of  shame  and  cruelty  were 
often  perpetrated  faster  than  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer 
could  record  them.  You  might  as  well  undertake  to 
describe,  for  the  same  length  oi  time,  all  the  movements 
ot  as  manv  flying  Scythians,  or  the  atrocities  of  as  many 
Saracens,  when  borne  along  by  the  swelling  tide  of  religious 
enthusiasm,  and  in  the  lull  career  of  triumphant  success. 
AVe  certainly  take  no  pleasure  in  portraying  his  character 
or  describing  his  progress.  We  would  much  rather  throw 
his  name,  with  all  its  painful  associations,  into  the  dark 
stream  of  Lethe,  and  let  it  sink  to  rise  no  more;  but  it 
seems  right  that  we  should  make  a  fair  estimate  of 
the  price  which  our  liberties  cost,  as  well  as  of  the  bless- 
ings which  they  have  confered;  and  to  make  such  an 
esnmate,  it  is  necessary  to  have  something  like  a 
full  length  portrait,  not  only  of  the  patriots  who 
fought  and  conquered,  but  of  the  men  with  whose 
prowess,  malignity  and  cunning  they  had  to  contend.  If 
we  would  cherish  a  proper  regard  for  the  memory  of  our 
fathers  and  mothers  of  that  period,  who  have  be- 
queathed to  us  an  inheritance  so  invaluable,  we  must 
have  before  us  the  sacrifices  which  they  made,  the  perils 
which  they  encountered,  and  the  toils  and  hardships 
which  they  endured.  Fanning  inflicted  more  injury  on 
the  country,  and  was  more  dreaded  at  the  time  than  any 
other  man,  and  many  of  his  crimes  and  deeds  of  violence 
would  live  in  the  traditions  of  the  people,  from  age  to 
age,  while  our  institutions  endure,  though  they  were 
never  to  stain  the  pages  of  history. 

A  few  of  these,  briefly  related,  may  give  the  reader  some 
idea  of  the  course  which  he  pursued,  and  may  serve  as 
specimens  of  a  long  series,  continued  without  interruption 
to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  and  unsoftened  by  any  prom- 
inent or  important  acts  of  an  opposite  kind, 

HIS  FIRST  EFFORTS  IN   THE  ROYAL  CAUSE. 

Some  time  in  the  spring  of  1781,  and  near  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career  as  the  champion  of  royalty,  he 
had  rather  an  extraordinary  affair  with  one  Charles  Sher- 
ring,  a  man  who  was  as  daring  in  his  courage  and  as  im- 
placable in  his  temper  as  himself.  The  date  of  this  affair 
is  not  known;  but  it  was  probably  before  his  descent  upon 


14  REVOLUTIOXARY  INCIDENTS. 

Pittsboro',  and  yet  he  must  have  become  an  object  oi 
some  attention,  for  threats  had  passed  upon  botli  sides, 
which  wouhl  hardly  have  been  the  case  if  he  had  not  be- 
come known  and  forniichilde.  He  seems  to  have  been 
remarkable  for  the  correctness  of  his  information  respect- 
ins:  every  man  and  every  road  and  locality  within  the 
ran«:e  of  his  operations,  so  that  he  generally  knew,  before 
he  set  out  on  an  expedition,  just  when  to  go,  what  amount 
of  torce  to  take  with  him,  and  everything  necessary  to 
success;  but  if,  at  any  time  he  was  misinformed  or  mista- 
ken in  his  calculations,  he  was  very  fertile  in  expedients 
and  very  prompt  to  avail  himself  of  any  advantage  that 
miu^ht  be  derived  from  circumstances.  The  account  of 
this  attack  on  Sherrins:  when  written  out  from  the  abbre- 
viated notes  amoug  McBride's  papers,  is  substantially  a-^ 
follows; 

As  he  made  it  a  point  to  kill  every  active  and  resolute 
whio;  that  he  could  get  in  his  powder,  he  had  determined 
to  kill  Sherring;  and  for  this  purpose  he  went  to  his  house 
in  the  night;  but  having  ascertained  before  hand  that  he 
was  alone  and  unguarded,  betook  no  one  with  him.  Sher- 
ri ng  either  having  been  apprised  of  his  design,  or 
from  the  desperate  character  of  the  man  and  the  threats, 
which  had  been  made,  being  w^ell  aware  of  his  danger, 
was  so  cautious  as  not  to  sleep  in  the  house  wdth  his  fam- 
ily, but  in  a  little  outhouse,  which  stood  a  few  steps  from 
the  dw^elling,  and  had  been  used  for  a  corn  crib.  It  was 
made  of  small  pine  logs  with  the  bark  peeled  off,  and 
floored  with  a  kind  of  hew^n    slabs  called  '^puncheons  " 

The  night  was  dark,  or  at  least  there  was  no  moon  light; 
but  the  logs  were  not  close  together,  and  an  outsider 
could  look  into  the  inside.  As  the  weather  was  warm 
and  pleasant,  he  had  lain  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  crib, 
with  some  tliin  covering  over  him  and  without  telling  his 
wife  or  any  body  else  where  he  had  gone.  On  searching 
the  house  he  found  that  he  was  not  there,  and  he  c(Hild 
get  no  information  as  to  his  whereabouts;  but  relying  on 
the  information  given  him,  he  concluded  that  he  must  l)e 
on  the  premises  and  he  was  intent  on  finding  him  out. 
For  this  purpose  he  extinguished  the  lights  and  sallied 
out  in  the  dark,  but  he  could  find  nothing  of  him  in  the 
stable  or  any  of  the  places  where  he  thought  lie  might 
probably  be  concealed. 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  15 

It  then  occurred  to  liiin  that  he  might  be  in  the  crib; 
and  peeping  through  the  crevices  between  the  logs,  dark 
as  the  night  was,  he  described  something  Ijnng  on  the  bot- 
tom, which,  from  the  shape,  he  concluded  must  be  a  man. 
and  he  fancied  he  could  tell  which  end  was  the  head. 
With  this  impression,  after  looking  steadily  for  some  time 
to  be  certain,  if  he  could,  he  put  his  rifte  between  the  logs 
and  tired.  The  ball  passed  through,  bet^veen  the  wind- 
])ipe  and  the  neck  bone  of  Sherring;  but  he  was  not  killed. 
Though  so  badly  wounded  and  though  he  had  his  rifle  in 
his  hand,  he  neither  moved  nor  made  the  least  noise. 
The  pain  must  have  been  intense;  but  he  had  sense 
enough  and  self  command  enough  to  lie  as  still  as  if  he 
had  been  a  log  oi'wood,  and  Fanning  made  no  attempt  to 
ascertain  the  effect  of  his  shot;  whether  he  concluded  that 
he  had  been  mistaken  in  the  object,  or  that  he  had  accom- 
plished  his  purpose,  and  w^as  therefore  satistied,  or  that 
the  report  of  the  gun  might  alarm  the  neighbors  and 
Vjring  them  in  upon  him  before  he  could  get  away,  was 
never  known.  He  was,  how^ever,  so  cautious  and  wary, 
that  he  did  not  even  look  into  the  crib;  but  immediately 
left  the  prenaises,  without  waiting  to  find  out  whether  he 
had  shot  a  man  or  a  bag  of  potatoes. 

As  soon  as  he  thought  Fanning  had  time  to  get  off  the 
plantation,  Sherring,  though  so  badl}'  wounded,  thought 
it  neither  safe  nor  prudent  to  remain  there;  and  setting 
off  forthwith,  without  waiting  to  have  his  wound  dressed  or 
even  to  go  into  his  house,  he  went  eight  miles,  to  Cornelius 
Tvson's,  where  he  o:ot  his  wounds  dressed  and  he  recover- 
ed  in  a  short  time.  The  impression  of  the  people  in  the 
neighborhood  seems  to  have  been  that  Fanning  really 
believed  he  had  killed  Sherring  and  that  his  great  caution 
was  the  reason  of  his  leaving  in  such  haste.  Few  nights 
now  passed  for  several  months  in  which  he  did  not  leave 
his  mark  somewhere.  No  whig  and  no  avow^ed  friend  to 
the  cause  of  Independence  could  feel  safe  in  his  house  for 
a  single  night,  if  within  reach  of  this  scourge  of  humanity; 
and  no  one,  however  dihgent  in  seeking  information  and 
however  shrewd  at  guessing,  could  possibly  tell  before- 
hand, with  any  sort  ot  probability,  wdien  or  where  he 
would  strike,  nor  in  w4-at  direction  they  might  hope  to 
find  a  refuge. 


16  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  COURT  IN  PTTTSBORo' — AND  HIS    COMMISSION 
AS  COLONEL  BY  MAJOR    CRAIG, 

His  next  move,  of  which  Ave  have  any  defiinte  informa- 
tion, was  one  of  a  much  boUler  and  more  important  char- 
acter. Having  got  some  thirty  or  forty  men  wdio  acknowl- 
edtred  him  as  their  leader,  he  dashed  into  Pittsboro' when 
the  county  court  was  in  session,  July  15th,  1781,  and  cap- 
tured the'lawyers,  justices,  and  other  officers  of  the  court, 
with  such  of  the  citizens  and  prominent  men  in  the  place 
as  he  wanted.  Having  been  thus  successful  to  the  lull  ex- 
tent of  his  wishes,  he  sVore  the  rebels  should  never  hold 
court  there  aj:ain;  and  then,  without  sustaining  any  loss 
or  meeting  with  any  resistance,  he  made  good  his  retreat 
with  the  wliole  of  his  prisoners.  Wheeler,  in  his  history 
of  Xorth  Carolina,  which  is  a  work  of  considerable  inter- 
est and  importance,  says  that  the  court  which  Fanning 
broke  up,  was  a  court  martial;  but  I  had  always  understood 
that  it  was  the  county  court;  and  I  see  that  it  is  so  stated  by 
Governor  Swain,  in  his  communication  to  the  University 
Mao'azine.  Unfortunately  the  records  of  both  the  county 
and  superior  courts  of  Chatham  were  destroyed  by  fire 
and  no  authentic  information  can  now  be  obtained  from 
that  source.  We  have,  therefore,  nothing  to  rely  upon  in 
relation  to  this  important  transaction  exce[)t  tradition;  and 
those  traditionary  accounts  which  were  first  comniitteJto 
writing,  are  probably  the  most  reliable*  At  this  time,  it 
a[>pears  that  Fanning  had  no  horse,  or  none  that  w^s  at 
all  fit  for  the  business  in  which  he  was  engaged;  and  as  his 
success  in  att-ick  or  his  saletvin  flight  w-)uld  olten  depend 
upon  the  fleetness  of  the  animal  which  he  rode,  it  was  telt 
to  be  a  matter  of  vital  importance  that  he  should  be  bet- 
ter mounted.  In  the  University  Ma2:azine,  Governor  Swain 
says,  on  the  authority,  it  seems,  of  Judge  Murphy,  who  did 
not  at  all  times  observe  ihe  same  precision  and  accuracy 
which  were  ner*essary  in  legal  investigations,  tliat  "an  old 
]o3'alist,  named  Lindly,  gave  him  a  mare  called  the  ''Red- 
Doe,"  from  her  peculiar  color;"  but  he  was  evidently  inis- 
taken  in  the  name  of  the  mare  and  probibly  in  the  name 
also  of  the  donor.  Tne  verl)al  account  which  I  received 
of  this  matter,  a  number  of  years  ago,  was,  in  substance, 
as  follows: 


COL.    DAVID   FANNING.  17 

Feeling  much  elated  with  the  success  of  his  recent  en- 
terprise, and  having  his  mind  tilled  with  the  prospect  of 
still  greater  achievements,  he  began  immediately  to  devise 
ways  and  means  for  getting  himself  better  equipped.  For 
this  purpose,  he  went  to  a  gentleman,  a  friend  or  acquain- 
tance, by  the  name  of  Bell,  who  was  a  loyalist,  and  very 
independent  in  his  circumstances.  Atter  giving  him  an 
account  of  his  exploit  in  Pittsboro,  and  a  sketch  of  his 
plans  for  future  operations,  he  said  to  him'  "Xow,  Bell, 
you  are  a  friend  to  King  George,  and  the  best  thing  you 
can  do  for  him  is  to  furnish  me  a  horse;  for  I  have  none, 
and  am  not  able  to  buy.  Bell  replied  that  he  had  none 
to  spare,  or  none  suitable  for  that  purpose;  but  that  there 
had  been,  for  two  or  three  days,  a. stray  filly  on  his  premi- 
ses; and  he  would  freeh^  give  him  all  his  right  and  title 
to  her,  if  she  would  do  him  any  good. 

The  hlly  was  without  any  marks  of  ownership,  or  any 
indications  of  having  been  used,  and  was  withal  very 
poor;  but  she  was,  tor  the  present,  his  only  chance,  and 
he  took  her.  After  putting  her  in  some  better  order, 
and  giving  her  a  little  training,  she  proved  to  be  the 
fleetest  animal  in  the  wdiole  country.  He  called  her  the 
''Bay  Due," — bay  from  her  color,  and  doe  from  her 
fleetness;  and  when  on  her  back,  whether  he  had  to  attack 
or  fiee,  he  felt  perfectly  safe.  In  a  short  time  he  got  a 
horse, — whether  by  rapine  or  by  donation,  from  his 
friend  Lindly  is  not  known, — which  was  also  very  fleet, 
but  not  equal  to  the  mare.  He  called  him  the  "Red 
Buck;"  and  in  a  little  time  the  fame  of  the  ''Red  Buck" 
and  the  "Bay  Doe"  was  nearly  co-extensive  with  that  of 
Fanning  himself.  Precisely,  when  or  where  he  got  either 
of  these  animals,  is  a  matter  of  little  consequence,  but  with 
him  it  was  all-important  that  he  should  get  his  prisoners 
safely  delivered  to  the  British  authorities  at  Wilming- 
ton. For  this  purpose  he  lost  no  time;  but  took  care 
to  avoid  such  routes  as  would  probably  expose  him  to  an 
attack  of  the  Whigs.  The  following  account  of  his  pro- 
gress to  and  from  Wilmington,  together  with  some  of  his 
subsequent  transactions  and  several  letters,  we  take  from 
the  University  Magazine,  already  referred  to,  because  it 
is  more  authentic  and  satisfactory  than  any  other,  and 
probably  contains  all  the  information  that  can  now  be 
got  of  his  doings  at  that  early  stage  of  his  progress 

Leaving  Pittsboro  immediately,  he  went  that  evening 


18  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

"to  the  west  side  of  Deep  river,  at  Beck's,  now  called 
Coxe's  Ford;  and  encamped  for  the  night.  On  the  next 
day,  having  received  a  reinforcement  of  tifteen  men,  he 
set  out  with  his  prisoners,  forty-four  in  number,  for  Wil- 
mington. Of  the  prisoners,  three,  John  Williams,  (Lon- 
don, Esquire,  attorney  at  law,)  Gen.  Ambrose  Eamse}^ 
and  Col.  Griffiths,  were  permitted  to  ride,  he  taking 
their  word  of  honor  not  to  desert  him." 

On  that  evening  they  reached  ten  miles  and  encamped. 
On  the  second  night,  Stephen  Lewis  and  John  Short, 
two  of  the  Tories,  deserted.  They  traveled  by  ways,  and 
through  the  woods  to  McFall's  Mill,  on  the  waters  of  the 
Kart  Swamp,  and  before  passing  the  swamp,  two  of  the 
prisoners,  Thomas  Scurlock  and  Capt.  James  Hardin, 
who  Fanning  feared  would  attempt  to  escape,  were  hand- 
cuffed and  so  continued  to  Wilmington.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  swamp  they  met  Col.  McNeill,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  returning  from  Wilmington.  They 
continued  their  route  on  the  West  side  of  the  river,  and 
encamped  opposite  to  Wilmington. 

Gen.  Ramsey,  John  Williams,  Esq  and  Col.  Griffiths, 
who  were  on  their  parole  of  honor,  were  attended  only 
by  one  man,  Michael  Pearson,  and  rode  either  before  or 
behind  the  party  as  they  pleased.  At  Wilmington  they 
v/ere  paroled  by  Major  Craig,  and  returned.  Thomas 
Scurlock  died,  and  the  other  prisoners  werfe  sent  by  Ma- 
jor Craig,  to  Charleston. 

The  following  letter  written  by  the  prisoners  when  on 
their  way  to  Wilmington,  and  addressed  to  Gov.  Burke^ 
will  be  interesting  to  the  reader,  and  therefore  we  make 
no  apology  for  its  insertion.  We  copy  from  the  Univer- 
sity Magazine. 

George  H.  Ramsey  and  others,  to  Gov.  Burke. 
Camp  at  McFaWs  Mill, 
Raft  Swamp,  July  22</,  1781. 

On  Tuesday  last  we  were  captured  at  Chatham  Court- 
house  by  a  party  under  the  command  ot  Col.  David  Fan- 
ning, which  party,  we  found,  consisted  of  persons  who 
complained  of  the  greatest  cruelties  either  to  their  persons 
or  property.  Some  had  been  unlawfully  drafted,  others 
had  been  whipped  and  illtreated  without  trial,  others  had 
their  houses  burned  and  all  their  propert;y  plundered^  and 


COL.   DAVID   FANNING.  19 

barbarous  aucl  cruel  murders  had  been  committed  in 
tlif  ir  neighborhoods.  The  oiiicers  they  complained  of,  are 
Major  Naul,  Capt.  Kobeson.  olBhiden,  Capt.  Crump,  Col. 
Wade  and  Phill  Alston.  The  latter,  a  day  or  two  ago,  a 
few  miles  in  our  rear,  took  a  man  on  the  road  and  put 
him  to  death,  which  has  much  incensed  the  Highlanders 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  A  Scotch  gentleman,  the 
same  day,  was  taken  at  one  McAfiie's  mill,  and  ill-treated. 
He  is  said  to  be  a  peaceable  and  inoffensive  man.  His 
name  we  do  not  know.  He  lives  on  the  Raft  Swamp — 
should  be  happy  if  he  could  be  liberated.  JSTotwithstand- 
ing  the  cruel  treatment  these  people  have  received,  we 
have  been  treated  with  the  greatest  civility,  and  with  the 
utmost  respect  and  politeness  by  our  commanding  officer, 
Colonel  FanniDg,  to  w^iom  we  are  under  the  greatest  ob- 
ligations; and  we  beg  leave  to  inform  your  excellency 
that  unless  an  immediate  stop  is  put  to  such  inhuman 
practices,  we  plainly  discover  the  whole  country  will  be 
deluged  in  blood  and  the  innocent  will  sutler  for  the  guil- 
ty. We  well  know  your  abhorrence  ot  such  inhuman 
conduct  and  your  steady  intention  to  prevent  it.  All  we 
mean  is  information.  We  expect  to  be  delivered  to  Major 
Craig,  at  Wilmington,  in  two  or  three  days,  entirely  desti- 
tute of  money  and  clothes.  How  long  we  shall  remain 
so,  God  only  knows.  All  we  have  to  ask  is,  that  the 
perpetrators  of  such  horrid  deeds  maybe  brought  to  trial, 
that  prisoners  may  be  well-treated  in  the  future. 

And  we  are 

f 

your  Excellency's 

Most  obedient  servants.      • 

This  letter  was  signed  by  Geo.  Herndon  Ramsey,  Jo- 
seph Herndon,  Math.  Ramsey,  W.  Kinchen,  James  Hern- 
don, Thos.  Gregory,  John  Dir  Song,  James  Williams 
and  Thos.  Sensbork;  and  Simon  Ferrel  was  paroled  to 
carry  it  to  the  Governor  and  return  to  Wilmington. 
Some  of  our  readers  may  be  a  little  surprised  to  find 
these  prisoners  speaking  so  favorably  of  Col  Fanning, 
and  the  tories  generally  in  that  region;  but  it  is  probable 
that,  in  this  case,  they  w^ere  not  allowed  to  communicate 
the  whole  truth  nor  to  make  a  very  frank  expression  ot 
their  feelings.     We  presume  that  Fanning  would  not  suf- 


20  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

fer  them  to  write  at  all  unless  he  knew  the  contents  of 
the  letter,  nor  to  send  it  if  he  found  that  it  contained  any 
statements  of  which  he  disapproved. 

Under  the  circumstances,  Fanning  would  have  acted 
unwisely  for  himself  if  he  had  permitted  them  to  say  just 
what  they  pleased;  and  being  thus  restricted;  they  no 
doubt  thought  it  w^as  for  their  interest  to  compliment  him 
and  curry  favor  with  him,  so  far  as  they  could  without 
compromising  their  honor  or  their  principles.  Fanning, 
too,  must  have  been  pleased  with  the  statements  made, 
for  they  were  just  such  facts  as  he  wished  to  have  announ- 
ced to  the  Governor  and  if  he  had  not  been  pleased  with 
it  he  would  not  have  paroled  one  ot  tbeir  number  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  being  the  bearer;  but  there  is  an  ex- 
pression in  a  letter  which  one  of  them  wrote  to  the  Govern- 
or after  his  return,  which  seems  to  imply  the  same  thing. 
James  Williams  was  paroled  by  Major  Craig,  in  August; 
and  when  he  returned  he  addressed  to  Governor  Burke, 
the  following  letter,  which  in  the  dearth  of  authentic  in- 
formation, we  are  glad  to  get,  and  which  we  insert,  not 
only  as  connected  with  the  preceding;  but  as  throw- 
ing some  additional  light  on  the  state  of  things  at  that 
period. 

James  Williams  to  Governor  Burke. 

Chatham.,  22c?.  August,  1781. 

Sir: — I  returned  yesterday  from  _  Wilmington  on  my 
parole  to  Chatham  County,  which  prevents  my  w^aiting 
upon  your  Excellency  in     person. 

I  am  desired  by  the  prisoners  to  acknowledge  the  re- 
ceipt of  yours  by  the  flag,  and  to  thank  you  for  your 
promised  attention  to  them.  Their  case  really  merits  it. 
Every  article  to  be  sold  in  Wilmington  is  at  least  three 
times  as  high  for  hard  money  as  usual.  It  cost  me  in 
three  weeks  there,  for  board  and  some  few  articles  of 
clothing,  £32  sterling,  for  which  I  am  indebted  as  they 
all  are,  more  or  less.  They  desire  me  to  solicit  you  for 
a  passport  tor  as  much  tobacco,  or  any  other  article,  as 
will  discharge  the  debts.  If  this  should  fail,  they  will  be 
in  a  very  disagreeable  situation — their  credit  will  stop 
and  they  must  inevitably  sutfer. 

I  am  told  your  Excellency  understood  our  letter  from 
Mc Falls  Mdl,  Raft  Swamp.      We  were  very   unhappy  there. 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  21 

There  has  been  no  news  in  WHrnington,  either  by  land 
or  water,  these  six  weeks.  I  brought  up  two  or  three 
of  their  newspapers,  but  they  are  so  barren  they  are  not 
worth  enclosing:     We  hope  to  be  exchanged  for  shortly. 

I  am  your  Excellency's 

Most  obedient  servant, 

James  "Williams. 

To  his  Excellency  Thomas  Burke, 

After  asking  the  reader  to  notice  the  words  which  we 
have  made  ewphatical  for  the  purpose  of  calling  attention 
to  them,  in  reference  to  the  preceding  letter,  Ave  will  give 
the  reply  of  Gov.  Burke  to  the  lettei"  which  the  prisoners 
wrote  to  him  from  McFall's  Mill,  not  because  it  has  any 
direct  bearing  upon  Fanning,  but  because  it  shoAvs  the 
desire  of  the  Executive  to  maintain  the  laws  and  to  do 
justice,  as  far  as  possible,  to  all  classes. 

Governor    Burke    to    Messrs.    Kamsey     and    others, 
Prisoners  taken   at  Chatham. 

State  of  North  Carolina,   \ 
July  28th,  1781.        / 

Gentlemen: — I  have  received  your  letter,  dated  from 
McFall's  Mill,  Raft  S^vamp,  22d  July. 

Your  having  been  made  prisoners  has  already  been 
announced  to  me,  but  I  have  not  yet  obtained  sufficient 
information  whereby  to  determine  whether  you  were 
acting  in  a  military  or  civil  character  at  the  time  of  the 
capture. 

I  shall  make  every  due  enquiry,  and  be  assured  I  will 
be  attentive  to  you  as  far  as  my  power  and  circumstances 
will  admit. 

From  your  letter  I  am  led  to  suppose  Colonel  Fanning 
to  be  an  officer  commissioned  by  his  Britannic 
Majesty,  for  the  people  who  compose  his  force  must  be 
inhabitants  of  this  State. 

Since  my  return  to  this  State,  which  is  the  same  with 
the  time  of  my  being  in  my  present  office,  I  have  received 
a  variety  of  accounts  of  reciprocal  violences  and  enormites 
between  the  well  and  ill  affected  to  our  government  which 
disgrace  humanity;  but  I  have  received   no   such    infor- 


22  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

niation  in  such  a  mode  as  can  justify  my  interposition; 
either  as  a  civil  ma<):istrale  or  military  officer,  except  in 
one  case,  on  which  I  instantly  took  decisive  measures.  I 
have  issued  the  most  pointed  orders  against  all  rapine  on 
any  pretence,  and  against  every  act  unbecoming  brave 
and  magnanimous  soldiers  and  civilized  people.  I  shall, 
as  much  as  possible,  attend  to  the  strict  execution  of 
such  orders:  but  for  the  grievances  of  which  the  people 
you  mention  complain,  I  can  do  nothing  at  present  but 
put  the  judiciary  power  in  vigor  and  preserve  it  free  to 
hear  the  complaints  of  all  persons,  and  independent  to 
determine  them  agreably  to  justice  and  the  laws  of  the 
State.  For  this  measure  is  now  in  train,  and  if  the  peo- 
ple you  mention  are  really  aggrieved,  the  regular  mode  of 
redress  will  be  open  to  them.  If  they  be  not  citizens  of 
this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  I  suppose  they  must  be 
objects  of  the  law  martial,  which,  so  tar  as  depends  on 
me,  shall  be  executed  agreable  to  the  usages  of  civilized 
nations.  I  cannot  discover  from  your  letter  whether  the 
Scotch  gentleman  you  mention  is  a  prisoner  of  war  or  a 
civil  prisoner.  Upon  application  made  to  me  by  or  for 
him,  which  will  enable  me  to  distinguish,  measures  shall 
be  taken  suitable  to  their  condition. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

Thomas  Burke. 

Without  further  comment  on  the  above  letters,  we 
leave  them  to  the  perusal  and  reflections  of  the  reader, 
and  return  to  Fanning  where  we  left  him  with  his  band 
of  heroes  at  AYilraington,  basking  in  the  reflections  ot 
royal  favor  and  inspirited  by  the  tokens  of  that  favor 
which  he  received  to  aim  at  still  greater  achievements. 

BATTLE  AT  MCFALL's  MILL. 

"They  remained  at  Wilmington  three  davs,  during 
which  time  he  received  a  commission  from  Major  Craig, 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  a  suit  of  rich  regimentals, 
with  suitable  epaulettes,  sword  and  pistols.  He  set  out 
on  his  return  to  Chatham,  and  at  McFall's  mill,  having 
encamped,  intelligence  was  received  by  express  that  Col- 
onel Thomas  Wade;  of  Anson  county,  with  six  hundred 
and  sixty  Ynen,  were  at  Betti's  bridge,  on  Drowning  creek, 
twenty  miles  south  of  McFall's  mill.     The  express  reach- 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  23 

ed  the  camp  about  eight  o'clock  at  night.  Fanning  or- 
dered his  men  to  moaiit  their  horses  and  march  immedi- 
ately. At  the  dawn  of  day,  ten  nnles  north  of  Bctti's 
bridge,  they  came  up  with  Colonel  Hector  McNeill,  hav- 
ing with  him  three  hundred  men;  the  whole  number  then 
amounted  to  three  hundred  and  forty.  Fanning  took  the 
command,  and  soon  learning  that  Colonel  Wade  had 
crossed  the  bridge  to  the  eastern  side  of  Drowning  creek, 
he  turned  to  the  right,  and  passed  up  a  swamp  to  a  cross- 
way,  expecting  to  iind  Colonel  Wade  between  that  swamp 
and  the  creek  The  cross  way  was  distant  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  Betti's  bridge  Fanning  halted 
at  the  crossway  and  gave  notice  of  the  order  of  battle. 
His  men  were  directed  to  pass  the  crossway,  two  deep, 
and  all  having  got  over.  Colonel  McXeill  was  ordered  to 
turn  down  the  swamp  to  the  left  towards  the  bridge,  to 
cut  off  Wade's  retreat  in  that  direction.  He  was  ordered 
not  to  bring  his  men  into  action  unless  banning  should 
be  hard  pressed  and  in  danger  of  being  defeated,  but  to  w^atch 
the  progress  of  the  battle,  and  if  Wade  should  be  routed 
by  securing  the  pass  to  the  bridge,  to  prevent  his  retreat, 
and  captui-e  as  many  prisoners  as  possible-  Fanning  was 
to  turn  to  the  right  from  the  end  of  the  crossway  with  all 
the  other  men,  and  they  w^ere  directed  to  follow  him  in 
the  same  order  in  which  they  passed  the  crossway,  until 
he  should  reach  the  extreme  left  of  Wade's  line,  when 
upon  a  signal  to  be  given  by  him,  they  were  to  dismount 
and  commence  the  light.  Eleven  men  were  left  to  guard 
the  crossway  and  prevent  the  escape  ot  the  horses,  the 
swamp  being  impassible  for  miles  except  at  this  cross- 
way. 

''These  orders  being  given.  Fanning,  preceding  his  col- 
umn, passed  the  crossway,  his  men  following  him.  As 
soon  as  he  passed,  he  discovered  Wade's  men  drawn  up 
on  the  top  of  the  hill  in  line  of  battle.  The  ground  was 
favorable  for  his  attack.  There  w^as  no  undergrowth  of 
bushes,  and  the  pines  were  thinly  scattered  on  the  slope 
of  the  hill.  Fanning  immediately  perceived  the  injudici- 
ous position  which  Wade  had  taken,  and  confident  of  victo- 
ry, rode  on  to  the  left  of  Wade's  line.  Before,  however,  he 
had  proceeded  as  far  as  he  had  intended,  one  of  his  men 
Avas  thrown  from  his  horse,  and  in  the  act  of  falling  his 
gun  fired.     Instantly  Wade's  line    fired,    and    eighteen 


24  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

horses  belonging  to  Fanning's  men  were  killed.  Fan- 
ning wheeled,  gave  the  signal  to  dismount,  which  was  in- 
staiTtly  observed  by  his  men,  who  poured  in  a  deadly  fire 
upon  Wade's  line.  Fanning  rode  along  his  lin':i  in  front 
and  ordered  his  men  to  advance  upon  every  tire,  and  they 
continued  to  advance  and  lire  until  they  got  witiiin  twen- 
tv-tive  yards  of  Wade's  line,  when  it  suddenly  broke,  and 
the  men  fled  in  the  utmost  confusion.  Fanning  pursu- 
ing with  activity,  and  expecting  that  their  retreat  by  the 
brfdge  would  be  cut  olf  by  Cob  "McNeill,  he  had  no  doubt 
of  taking  them  all  prisoners.  To  his  astonishment,  he 
found  that  Col.  McNeill  had  not  occupied  the  ground  to 
which  he  was  ordered;  that  he  had  passed  down  the  right 
of  W^ade's  line,  only  a  short  distance,  and  left  the  Avay  to 
the  bridge  open.  Fanning  pressed  on  the  fugitives,  and 
soon  took  forty-four  prisoners.  Re  then  directed  a  few 
of  his  men  to  iiipunt,  and  with  them  he  pursued  Wade  at 
full  speed,  for  two  or  three  miles.  But  Wade  had  fled  at 
full  speed,  and  Fanning  could  not  overtake  him. 

"During  this  tight,  as  well  as  upon  every  other  occasion  , 
Fanning  displayed  the  most  daring  courage.  Dressed  in 
ricii  British  uniform,  he  rode  between  the  lines  during  the 
fight,  and  gave  his  ord.ers  with  the  utmost  coolness  and 
presence  of  mind.  It  is  strange  that  he  had  not  been  se- 
lected by  some  of  Wade's  men,  as  he  was  at  the  close  of 
the  tight,  not  twenty  yards  distant  from  them.  He  did 
not  lose  one  of  his  men;  only  two  or  three  were  slightly 
wounded.  As  he  ascended  the  hill,  Wade's  men  shot  over 
his,  and  when  he  approached  the  summit.  Wade's  men 
were  so  panic  struck  that  they  tired  without  aim.  Wade 
lost  27  killed,  and.  of  ihe  prisoners  taken,  several  died  of 
their  wounds. 

"  The  battle  was  fought  about  10  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon, on  the day  of  July,  1781.     It  is  said  that  Wade 

had  600  men:  Fanning  fought  the  battle  wiih  240  men, 
lor  the  detachment  under  Colonel  McNeill  was  not  engag- 
ed. Orders  were  given  for  burying  the  dead,  and  the 
wounded  were  placed  under  the  care  of  Fanning's  Sur- 
geon.s." 

This  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  been  engaged,  at  least 
when  invested  with  authority,  and,  considered  merely  as 
a  coniinanding  ofticer,  he  certainly  acquitted  himself  with 
honor.  Cool  and  sell-possessed  every  where,  judicious  in 
his  arrangements,  ready  to  expose  himself  when  really  nee- 


COL.   DAVID   FANNING.  25 

essary,  vigilant  and  quick  to  perceive  where  an  advantage 
might  be  gained,  and  prompt  and  energetic  to  avail  him- 
sellof  every  circumstance  or  occurrence  that  could  be  ren- 
dered auxiliary  to  his  success,  he  showed  that,  with  prop- 
er intellectual  training  and  moral  culture  when  his  char- 
acter was  forming,  he  might  have  made  a  commanding 
officer  ot  higher  grade  and  of  much  distinction,  in  a  better 
cause  too,  a^id  on  a  more  extended  theatre.  We  cannot 
do  otherwise  than  feel  some  regret,  both  tor  his  own  sake 
and  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  that  his  character  had  not 
been  formed  under  a  better  iniiuence;  but  we  must  ac- 
knowledge the  hand  of  an  overruling  Providence  in  the 
atiairs  of  men. 

"  Among  the  prisoners  taken  was  Joseph  Hayes.  He 
was  recognized  by  Capt.  Elrod,  of  Fanning's  party.  El- 
rod  alleged  that  Hayes  had  plundered  his  house  and  ill- 
treated  his  tamily,  and  Hayes  was  ordered  to  be  instantly 
hanged.  The  order  was  executed.  Hayes,  after  hanging 
iifreen  minutes,  was  cut  duwn.  One  of  the  surgeons  be- 
ino'  present,  thought  that  he  could  resuscitate  him,  and 
determined  to  make  the  trial.  Perceiving  the  appearance 
ot  returning  life,  he  informed  Elrud  of  the  fact,  and  Elrod 
told  him  to  persevere.  He  did  so,  and  Hayes  was  restor- 
ed to  life. 

''-  In  the  evening  Fanning  set  out  on  his  return.  Dur- 
ing his  march  on  Uie  next  day,  an  incident  occurred  which 
is^vorthy  of  being  recorded,  as  furnishing  some  relief  to 
the  paintul  scenes' which  the  country  was  then  witnessing.^ 
A  scouting  party  apprehended  Col.  Thomas  JDougan,  of 
Randolph  county,  and  brought  him  to  Fanning.  He  had 
been  sent  by  the*' Whigs  of  tiie  upper  counties  to  learn  the 
situation  of  atiairs  on  Hrowniug  creek;  the  strength  and 
position  ot  the  Tories;  and  their  plans  of  operation.  He 
was  beloved  by  the  people  of  his  county,  both  parties  re- 
garded him  as  an  upright  man,  and  a  friend  to  his  coun- 
try; and  those  who  dirfered  from  him  in  opinion  as  to  the 
contest  in  which  they  were  engaged,  abated  neither  their 
esteem  or  atteciion.  ^  With  Fanning  were  several  of  his 
intiiiiate  acquaintances  and  personal  friends,  who  all 
knowing  that  by  the  custom  of  the  times,  men  taken  un- 
der circumstances  like  his  were  immediately  hanged,  ap- 
prehended the  same  fate  would  attend  him.  They  resolv- 
ed to  make  a  generous  eiiort  to  leave  him.  Trials,  often 
upon    such  occasions,  were  short    and    their  execution 


26  EEVOLUTIOXARY   INCIDENTS. 

prompt.  Col:  Dongan  was  brought  forward,  his  case  was 
heard  in  a  few  minutes,  and  Fanning  ordered  him  to  be 
lamg.  Dougan's  friends  interposed  their  entreaties,  and 
whilst  they  were  imploring  Fanning  to  spare  his  life,  he 
was  mounted  on  a  horse  with  a  rope  round  his  neck,  and 
placed  under  the  limb  of  the  tree  to  which  he  was  to  be 
suspended.  At  this  moment  one  of  his  friends,  finding 
entreaties  unavailing,  told  Fanning  in  peremptory  terms, 
that  if  Dougan  was  hanged  he  would  instantly  shoot  him, 
A  o'eneral  mutiny  was  threatened,  when  Fannino^  resolv- 
ed  to  leave  Dougan's  fate  to  the  decision  of  the  forty  men 
who  had  attended  him  in  all  his  expeditions.  They  divi- 
ded, and  a  majority  declared  in  Dougan's  favor.  He  was 
then  taken  down  and  treated  as  a  prisoner." 

"Another  man,  by  the  name  of  Johnson,  from  the  same 
neighborhood,  was  taken  either  withDougan  or  about  the 
same  time.  He  also  was  much  esteemed,  but  not,  by  all  par- 
ties, so  roiKih  as  Dougan.  Elrod  was  a  young  man  of  true 
courage,  and  lived  in  the  fork  of  the  Yadkin.  Although 
he  committed  many  atrocities  and  was  much  dreaded  in 
the  country,  he  was  capable  of  performing,  occasionally, 
a  generous  acr;  but  some  further  account  of  him  and  of 
his  death;  at  which  Dougan  was  present,  will  be  given 
hereafter  in  a  separate  article. 

"At  Mc  Fall's  Mill,  Col.  McNeill  and  Fanning  separa- 
ted; the  latter  with  his  forty  men;  returned  to  Beck's 
Ford  on  Deep  river,  where  his  men  dispersed,  and  part 
of  them  returned  to  their  respective  homes.  The  prison- 
ers taken  at  Betti's  brido:e,  with  Col.  Dous^an  "and  oth- 
ers,"  were  left  with  Col.  McXeill,  to  be  sent  to  Wilming- 
ton. "During  the  time  Fanning  remained  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Beck's  Ford,  Stephen  Lewis  and Short,  who 

had  deserted  him  on  his  march  to  Wilmington,  returned  to 
his  camp.  He  reproached  them  for  their  desertion,  and 
told  Lewis  he  woukl  put  him  to  death;  that  his  men  must 
be  true  to  him,  as  he  intended  to  be  true  to  them;  that 
they  were  at  liberty  to  punish  him  with  death  the  mo- 
ment he  should  prove  unfaithful  to  them,  as  he  would  pun- 
ish with  death  those  Avho  should  prove  unfaithful  to  him. 
Lewis  treated  his  admonition  as  well  as  his  threat  with 
levity.  Fanning  raised  his  gun,  and  standing  within  a 
few  feet  of  Lewis,  took  deliberate  aim  at  him:  his  gun 
snapped;  he  then  drew  his  sword  and  made  a  pass  at  Lew- 
is' head,  and  cut  him  severely.     Some  of  Fanning's   men 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.    -  27 

rushed  in  and  prevented  a  repetition  of  the  blow,  and 
Lewis'  life  was  spared.  It  was  by  such  prompt,  decisive 
conduct,  aud  by  a  constant  display  of  energy,  firmness, 
a!ul  daring  courage,  that  he  sought  to  win  the  esteem 
and  attachment  of  his  men  aud  such  was  his  success,  that 
many  foUowed  his  fortunes  who  disapproved  of  his  barba- 
rous cruelties,  being  led  on  by  their  admiration  of  his  ex- 
traordinary qualities — they  thought  him  invincible,  and 
that  with  a  handfull  ot  men  he  could  defeat  large  detach- 
ments. 

''Captain  Robert  Roper,  of  Chatham,  collected  a  small 
party  of  Whigs  and  marched  up  Deep  river  to  attack 
Fanning,  who  was  still  at  Beck's  Ford.  Fanning  seeing 
some  of  Roper's  men  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
attempted  to  cross  the  river,  accompanied  only  by  Short. 
As  soon  as  they  entered  the  river  they  were  fired  on 
and  Short  wounded.  They  retreated;  and  directing  his 
men  to  mount  and  follow  him,  he  hasteiied  to  a  ford  a 
lew  miles  above,  where  he  crossed;  and  being  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  paths  and  roads  of  the  neighborhood, 
he  went  down  the  river  along  a  small  path,  expecting  to 
find  Roper  still  at  Beck's  Ford.  In  this  he  was  disap- 
pointed — Roper  retired  down  the  river  in  haste,  and  Fan- 
ning pursued  him  till  late  at  night,  when  he  abandoned 
the  pursuit.  He  then  liad  with  him  only  twenty-three  or 
four  men.  On  the  next  day  he  proL;eeded  down  the  river 
and  took  Moore  of  Hillsboro',  a  prisoner.  lie  was  an  in- 
offensive man,  and  at  the  solicitation  of  one  of  his  men,  who 
was  acquainted  with  Moore,  Fanning  paroled  him.  On 
the  same  day  he  took  Wyat  and  Tomlinson  prisoners, 
near  the  gulph  on  Deep  river;  and  as  they  were  connected 
with  an  active  whig  family,  he  resolved  to  hang  them. 
They  were  placed  in  a  cart  with  ropes  around  their  necks. 
The  cart  was  driven  partly  through  agate,  to  the  top  piece 
of  which  the  ropes  were  about  to  be  fastened,  and  then, 
when  they  were  about  to  be  swung  off,  some  of  Fanniug's 
men  who  knew  them  interlered  and  saved  them.  He 
letV-  their  fate,  as  he  had  done  that  of  Col.  Dougan,  to 
the  decision  of  his  followers.  Fanning  immediately  set 
out  for  Wilmington,  and  took  W^yat  and  Tomlinson  on 
with  him  as  prisoners,  and  delivered  them  to  Major  Craig. 

"He  remained  in  Wilmington  five  days.  His  camp 
was  near  the  brick  house  at  Belvidere.  Here  an  incident 
occurred  which  marked  the  peculiar  traits  of  his   charac- 


lis  REVOLUTIOXARY    IXCIDEXTS. 

ter.  He  sent  three  of  liis  men  to  brini^  water.  At  the 
spring  they  met  with  some  British  soldiers;  and  owing 
to  some  difierence  with  them,  they  were  put  under  guard. 
Fanning  was  informed  of  this  fact,  and  he  immediately 
ordered  throe  British  soldiers  who  were  in  the  camp  to  be 
put  under  guard,  and  gave  notice  to  the  officer  who  com- 
manded at  Belvidere  of  what  he  had  done,  and  that  he 
should  retain  those  men  until  his  were  returned.  The 
officer,  indignant  at  his  insolence,  drew  his  sword  and 
hastened  to  Fanning's  camp.  Fanning  w^as  lying  in  a 
tent,  and  the  officer  entering  the  tent,  inquired  whether  he 
was  Col.  Fanning,  who  had  dared  to  arrest  and  place  un- 
der guard,  three  British  soldiers.  Fanning  answered  that 
he  was  the  man.  The  officer  raised  his  sword  and  made 
a  pass  at  him,  which  Fanning  eluded  by  his  agility;  and 
having  grasped  his  sword  as  he  rose,  he  pointed  it  to  the 
breast  of  the  officer,  and  swore  he  would  run  him  through 
if  he  attempted  again  to  lift  his  sword.  The  officer  saw 
the  danger  which  threatened  him.  They  entered  into  con- 
versation, which  ended  in  a  declaratioumade  by  Fanning, 
that  he  would  retain  the  officer  until  his  men  w^ere  return- 
ed. A  soldier  was  immediately  despatched  for  Fanning's 
men,  and  upon  their  return  to  camp  the  officer  and  Brit- 
ish soldiers  were  discharo-ed. 


CAPTURE  OF  COLONEL   PHILIP  ALSTON. 


Immediately  after  his  return  he  made  his  famous  attack 
on  the  house  of  Colonel  Philip  Alston,  who  lived  in  the 
south-west  corner  of  Chatham  county,  and  in  a  bend  of 
the  river,  on  the  north  side;  called  the  Horse  Shoe.  Ou 
his  return  from  Wilmington,  he  encamped  at  Cross  Hill, 
near  the  present  town  of  Carthage,  and  on  the  place  then, 
or  afterwards  occupied  by  Mrs.  'Glascock,  There  he  re- 
ceived information  that  there  was  a  party  of  men  at  Col. 
Alston's,  and  he  resolved  to  attack  them.  Alston,  with 
a  good  deal  of  the  daring  and  reckless  character  about 
him,  had  been  very  severe  on  the  Tories,  especially  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  war;  and  now,  when  Fanning 
seemed  to  be  carrying  every  thing  before  him,  and  when 
no  Whig  in  that  region  could  feel  safe  in   his  ow^u  house 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  29 

a  single  night  unprotected,  he  had  more  cause  of  appre- 
hension than  many  others.  He  may,  therefcn^e,  have  had 
these  men  simply  to  protect  his  house  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  these  freebooters;  but,  according  to  my  informa- 
tion, Fanning  was  informed  that  he  was  raising  a  body 
of  men  for  the  purpose  ot  attacking  him;  and  therefore  he 
resolved  to  take  him  by  surprise,  and  before  he  could  be 
fully  prepared  even  for  defense. 

Such  was  the  reason  assigned  in  McB ride's  papers^  tor 
the  attack  on  Alston's  house;  but  I  have  recently  received 
a  communication  from  a  correspondent  who  lives  in  the 
Scotch  region,  and  in  whose  judgment  and  careful  inves- 
tigations I  have  much  confidence,  in  which  he  gives,  in 
substance,  the  following  account:  Colonel  Wade,  with  a 
hundred  mounted  men  had  been  through  the  region,  wa- 
tered by  the  tributaries  of  Drowning's  creek  and  the  Raft 
swamp,^  taking  vengeance  on  the  Tories  for  some  injuries 
which  he  had"  lately  received  from  them  Among  others, 
he  made  a  visit  to  Kenneth  Black,  a  man  in  comtortable 
circumstances,  but  a  Tory;  and  not  long  after  he  left,  Col- . 
onel  Fanning  came  along,  going  South,  with  about  a  doz- 
en Whig  pri^soners,  among  whom  w^as  a  lawyer  by  the 
name  of  Lightwood.  Fanning  stayed  all  night  at  the 
house  of  his'friend  Black,  and  was  very  kindly  entertain- 
ed. Next  morning  after  breakfast,  he  resumed  his  march, 
and  Black  accompanied  him  for  a  few^  miles,  as  a  pilot. 
Fanning's  horse  had  been  so  badly  foundered  that  he  \vas 
unfit  to" travel,  and  at  parting,  he  and  Black  exchanged 
horses.  When  returning  home,  on  the  north  side  of  Ray's 
mill  creek,  he  met  Colonel  Alston,  with  a  number  of 
men.  in  pursuit  of  Fanning,  and  for  the  purpose  of  rescue- 
ing  the  prisoners  As  soon  as  he  saw  them  he  turned  up 
the  creek  and  attempted  to  escape  on  Fanning's 
foundered  horse.  They  discovered  and  pursued  him, 
shot  at  and  wounded  him:  but  he  went  on  some  two  hun- 
dred yards  farther,  into  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  and  then 
fell  with  his  face  on  the  ground.  When  they  came  up 
they  smashed  his  head  w^ith  the  butt  of  his  own  gun,  and 
when  begging  for  his  life, 

Alston, "finding  that  it  w^as  useless,  did  not  continue 
the  pursuit  very  far;  but,  on  his  return  next  morning,  he 
called  at  Black's  and  told  Mrs.  Black  how  some  of  his 
men  had  killed  her  husband,  for  which  he  expressed  much 
regret.     Thence  he  went  to  a   neighbor's    house,    where 


30  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

old  Hector  McNeill  (not  the  Colonel.)  and  John  Buchan 
were  engaged  in  making  the  cotlin.  Alston  had  sold  a 
negro  woman  to  AlcXeill,  but  nut  having  sold  her  husband 
with  her,  lie  had  run  away,  and  he  accused  McXeill  ot 
harboring  him.  He  snapped  a  pistol  two  or  three  times 
at  his  head  and  then  carried  him  off  a  prisoner,  telling 
him  that  if  the  negro  was  not  returned  by  such  a  day,  he 
Avould  hang  him.  Mrs.  McNtill  engaged  her  own  negro 
man  to  catch  the  runaway,  which  he  did;  and  then  she, 
in  company  with  another  lady,  took  the  negro  home  to 
his  master,  contined  and  guarded  by  her  own  negro  man. 
Her  husband  was  then  released;  and,  as  both  parties 
viewed  each  other  with  (listrust,  Alston  was  probably  con- 
firmed in  his  form'^r  suspicion. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken  in  the  localities  mentioned  by  my 
informant,  the  transactions  above  related  took  place  in 
the  south  or  south-west  part  of  Moore  county;  and  it  so. 
Fanning  at  this  time  must  have  had  his  head  quarters  at 
or  not  tar  from  Cross  Hill,  where  I  had  always  under- 
stood he  had  them,  where  he  had  got  his  prisoners 
is  not  known;  but  as  Alston  was  endeavoring  to  rescue 
them,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  fi'om  his  region  of 
country.  Xor  is  it  known  to  what  point  he  was  aiming  to 
take  them.  \\y  intormant  says,  playtully,  that  he  was 
taking  them  to  his  ''Pravo"  or  ''Caboos,"  in  kSouth  Car- 
olina; but  we  presume  that  he  either  took  them  to  Wil- 
mino'ton,  or  ii'ave  them  into  the  hands  ot  some  oi:  his 
Tory  friends  who  carried  them  away  and  delivered  them 
to  the  British.  He  soon  returned,  however,  and  went  to 
the  house  of  Mrs.  Black,  where  he  was  informed  of  all 
that  had  been  done,  and  the  facts,  we  may  suppose,  were 
feelingly  described,  with  all  their  aggravating  circum- 
stances. When  he  learned  that  Alston  had  pursued  him; 
that  he  had  carried  away  McXeili  as  a  prisoner;  that  he 
had  killed  his  friend  Black,  who  had  received  him  so 
hospitably  only  a  few  nights  before;  that  he  kdled  two 
beeves  for  his  entertainment,  he  became  desperately  en- 
raged, and  mustering  all  the  force  he  could,  set  oltjforth- 
with  for  Alston's  house.  What  number  of  men  he  had  is 
not  known;  but,  it  he  had  hot  his  full  complement,  they 
were  increasing  every  day. 

At  this  time,  when  Hushed  by  so  uiany  victories,  and 
confident  of  success,  it  made  but  little  difference  with 
him  whether  his  enemy  outnumbered  him  two  to  one,    or 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  31 

was  forti-Sed  a^  by  the  rocks  of  Gibralter.  He  only  wan- 
ted to  know  that  there  was  an  enemy  within  strikinoj  dis- 
tance, and  he  anticipated  the  victory  as  already  gained. 
On  receiving  intelligence,  therefore  of  the  party  at  Alston's 
house,  he  immediately  set  out;  and  as  the  river  had  been 
a  little  swelled  by  a  rain,  he  directed  his  course  to  the 
north-west  tor  a  few  miles  and  then  turned  to  the  right, 
crossed  the  river  at  Dickerson's  ford,  three  or  four  miles 
above  Alston's,  and  went  down  on  the  north  side.  They 
arrived  on  the  premises  about  day-break  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, August  5th.;  and  immediately  commenced  the  attack. 
The  sentinels  being  asleep  were  taken  by  surprise,  and 
made  prisoners.  Those  at  the  gate,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  enclosure,  were  tired  on  but  not  being  killed  or  badly 
wounded,  they  ran  into  the  porch  where  "most  of  the  oth- 
er party  were  lying  asleep.  They  too  were  fired  on;  but ' 
as  soon  as  they  could  get  into  the  house,  the  doors  were 
fastened  and  all  the  preparation  for  defence  was  made 
that  could  be  made  at  the  moment.  The  windows  were 
soon  demolished;  and  many  of  the  balls  passing  through 
the  plank;  killed  or  wounded  the  men  inside. 

The  house  was  a  two  story  framed  house:  and  being 
weatherboarded,  ceiled  and  painted,  was  one  of  the  best 
houses  then  to  be  seen  in  that  part  of  the  country.  It 
stands  now  just  as  it  did  then,  with  the  exception  of  some 
additions,  and  still  bears  all  the  marks  of  war  that  it  had 
when  left  by  Fanning.  On  the  west  side  was  a  large 
porch,  one  end  of  which  had  been  made  into  a  bed  room, 
with  a  door  opening  into  the  hall,  and  this  was  the  room 
usually  occupied  by  Mrs.  Alston  and  her  husband.  She 
now  kept  her  bed,  which  was  thought  to  be  the  safest 
place  for  her;  and  her  two  little  children  were  put  up  into  the 
chimney.  This  was  done  by  putting  a  small  table  or 
bench  in  the  fire-place  for  them  to  stand  on,  which  was 
about  as  high  as  the  front  part,  and  thus  they  were  en- 
tirely beyond  the  reach  of  the  bullets. 

A  few  rods  from  the  house,  on  every  side,  was  a  strong 
rail  fence;  behind  which  Fanning  posted  his  men  and 
commenced  a  brisk  firing,  which  was  returned  by  the 
party  in  the  house,  and  kept  up,  without  much  effect  on 
either  side,  until  after  the  middle  of  the  day.  There  was 
among  the  assailants,  a  lieutenant  from  the  British  army 
by  the  name  of  McKay,  or  as,  I  am  told,  it  was  then  pro- 
nounced and  is  now  written,  McKoy,  who  had  either  re- 


32  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

turned  witli  Fanning  from  Wilmington,  or,  according  to 
my  authority,  had  been  sent  by  Major  Craig,  probably 
tor  the  purpose  of  observing  the  state  of  things  in  the 
country  whence  Fanning  had  taken  so  many  prisoners, 
and  being  in  Fanning"s  camp  when  the  news  came  of  the 
party  at  Alstons,  he  promptly  joined  the  expedition. 

Having  been  accustomed  to  tlie  use  o±  the  bayonet  and 
to  a  rush  when  a  piac-j  was  to  be  taken  by  assault,  he  be- 
came impatient  at  this  mode  ol  attack,  which  seemed 
likely  to  accomplish  nothing,  and  he  told  Fanning  that  if 
he  would  give  him  the  command  he  would  take  the 
house  in  a  few  minutes.  Fanning  promptly  granted  his 
request,  and  he  as  promptly  entered  on  the  execution  or 
his  purpose.  As  the  plitn  was  tor  all  to  rush  up,  burst 
open  the  doors  and  enter,  pdl  null,  he  started  lirst  and  or- 
*dered  the  rest  to  tolluw  him  which  they  did  without  hesi- 
tation, and  some  of  them  pari  passa;  but  as  he  jumped 
over  the  fence  and  aligtited  on  the  grcnmd.  a  ritle  ball 
entered  his  heart,  and  he  fell  dead  on  the  spot.  Most  of 
those  who  had  got  over  the  fence  or  were  still  on  it  were 
more  or  less  wounded,  and  they  retreated  to  their  iormer 
position  behind  the  fence.  Foiled  in  this  unfortunate  et- 
fort;  and  driven  back  with  loss,  the  genius  of  Fanning, 
ever  fertile  in  expedients,  was  now  busy  in  contriving 
some  way  to  accomplish  by  stratagem  what  he  had  failed 
to  effect  by  force:  and  he  iirst bribed  a  free  negro  to  set  the 
house  on  tire  at  the  far  side  where  it  was  supposed  he 
could  do  it  without  being  observed;  but  Alston  having 
noticed  Fanning  talking  to  the  negro,  or  seeing  the  iiegro 
go  round,  and  suspecting  his  design,  went  to  the  window 
and  shot  him  when  in  the  very  act  ot  applying  the  tire. 
The  negro  was  not  killed,  but  severely  wounded.  Dur- 
ing all  this  time  only  one  or  two  had  been  killed  in  the 
house,  and  four  or  five  wounded;  but  Fanning's  loss  in 
killed  and  wounded  was  more  than  double.  After  the 
failure  of  his  plan  with  the  free  negro,  an  almost  inces- 
sant fire,  on  both  sides,  was  kept  up  for  some  time,  but 
still  without  much  effect;  and  through  the  whole  of  this 
fierce  conflict  thus  far,  Mrs.  Alston  had  been  in  her  bed 
and  had  remained  uiduii't,  though  the  weatherboarding 
and  ceiling  were  riddled  with  the  bullets,  which  remain  to 
this  day  as  they  were  then;  and  some  ol  them  must  have 
passed  not  more  than  two  feet  above  her  when  she  lay  in 
the  bed. 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  83 

After  such  a  protracted  conflict  aad  with  so  much  loss 
to  himself,  Fanning  began  to  feel  discouraged;  and  either 
fro. n  the  apparent  lu)pjlossne3S  of  his  cause,  or  frjm  an 
apprehension  tliat  the  report  of  the  guns  might  alarm  the 
country  and  bring  a  Whig  force  upon  him  too  great  for 
his  strength,  he  was  on  the  point  of  abandoning  the  en- 
terprise and  drawing  ofi  his  men,  when  he  or  some  of  his 
men  fortunately  discovered  a  large  ox  cart  in  the  bam 
yara,  a  few  rods  in  their  rear;  and  with  this  he  resolved 
to  make  his  last  etlbrt.  He  ordered  them  to  till  it  with 
hay  or  straw,  and  bring  it  up,  intending  to  set  it  on  lire 
and  run  it  up  to  the  house.  If  he  could  burn  the  house 
they  would  be  obhged  to  surrender,  and  his  end  would 
be  accomplished. 

Several  of  the  men  promptly  volunteered  their  services; 
the  tire  was  brought;  and  they  were  about  ready  for  the 
operation.  The  plan  was  to  run  up  the  cart  with  its  load, 
tail  foremost,  and  thus  keep  it  between  them  and  the 
house,  so  tiiat  the  bullets  could  not  reach  them.  Alston, 
perceiving  their  design,  and  knowing  well,  that  defended 
as  they  would  be  by  the  cart,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
shoot  them,  concluded  that  their  only  chance  was  to  ca- 
pitulate; but  how  was  it  to  be  done?  The  men  all  believ- 
ed that  if  any  ot  them  ventured  to  go  outside  of  the  house, 
instant  death  would  be  the  consequence,  though  the  flag 
of  peace  were  waving  over  their  head;  and  if  Alston  him- 
self went  out,  no  matter  under  what  circumstances,  or 
who  might  be  with  him,  he  would  be  picked  out  and  made 
the  first  victim.  In  this  perilous  and  critical  moment, 
Mrs.  Alston  came  out  of  her  bed  room  or  j-tood  in  the 
door;  and  with  perfect  composure,  requested  them  to  com- 
mit this  business  to  her.  At  first,  the  men  all  objected, 
and  particularly  her  husband,  who  thought  it  very  im- 
probable that  Fanning,  under  all  the  circumstances,  would 
respect  even  a  lady  of  her  standing,  though  a  wife  and  a 
mother,  and  bearing  the  sacred  emblem  ot  peace;  but,  as 
she  insisted  on  it,  they  finally  consented.  A  man  may 
brave  danger  with  deliberate  courage,  like  a  hero  on  the 
field  of  battle,  where  all  the  intense  excitements  of  the  con- 
flict, and  the  hope  of  victory  are  bearing  upon  him;  he 
may  meet  death  with  a  kind  ot  defiance,  like  a  savage  or 
a  desperado;  he  may  die  with  tranquility  like  a  patriot,  or 
with  resignation  and  hope,  like  a  Christian;  but  such  se- 
renity of  mind,  such  calm  and  entire  self  possession,  such 


34  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

mild  and  dignified  Uriniiess  in  moments  of  sudden  and 
extreme  peril,  when  life  or  death  is  seen  to  depend  both 
on  what  is  done  and  how  it  is  done,  is  pecuhar  to  woman, 
Mrs.  Alston,  raising  a  white  flag,  opened  the  door  and  went 
out  on  the  step,  where  she  paused  for  a  moment  to  see  if 
she  coukl  discov-er  any  indications  of  the  treatment  which 
she  might  expect  to  receive. 

As  soon  as  Fanning  saw  her,  he  called  to  her  to  meet 
him  half-way,  which  she  did;  and  then,  in  a  calm,  digni- 
fied and  womanly  manner,  said  to  him: — "We  will  sur- 
render, sir,  on  condition  that  no  one  shall  be  injured;  oth- 
erwise we  will  make  the  best  defence  we  can;  and,  if 
need  be,  sell  our  lives  as  dearly  as  possible."  Planning, 
Avho  could  sometimes  respect  true  courage,  whether  in 
man  or  vvoman,  promptly  agreed  to  the  proposal,  and 
lionorably  kept  his  word.  The  men  all  then  surrendered 
and  were  immediately  paroled. 

In  the  papers  of  Judge  Murphy,  as  given  in  the  Uni- 
versity  Magazine,  it  is  stated  that  during  the  fio-ht,  Capt. 
Andrews,  a  British  officer,  who  had  accompanied  Fanning 
from  Wilmington,  having  climbed  up  the  fence  that  he 
might  shoot  with  more  effect  through  a  window  of  the 
house,  as  he  stood  on  the  fence,  one  of  the  men  in  the 
house  shot  him  through  the  head;  and  I  have  stated 
that  Lieu  enant  McKay,  from  the  British  army  was  killed. 
As  these  accounts  are  all  traditionary,  an  exact  agreement 
in  every  particular  is  hardly  to  be  expected;  but  in  this 
case  both  may  be  true.  There  may  have  been  a  Captain 
Andrews  and  also  a  Lieutenant  McKay  present,  as  officers 
from  the  british  army,  both  of  whom  were  killed;  for 
such  was  Fanning  s  success  at  this  time  that  it  would  not 
be  at  a'l  strange  if  two  or  more  of  the  British  officers 
should  be  with  him  on  any  occasion  of  the  kind;  and 
then  there  were  more  killed  than  we  would  gather  from 
Judge  Murphy's  account.  Next  morning  after  the  fight, 
eight  were  buried  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  a  few  rods 
from  the  house:  and  whether  any  of  the  wounded  after- 
wards died  oitheir  wounds,  T  have  not  learned,  but,  proba- 
bly they  did.  Most  of  the  dtad  were  of  Fanning's  party; 
for  only  two,  or  at  most  three,  of  Alston's  men  were  killed. 
According  to  the  statements  which  I  have  received,  Alston 
had  a  little  over  twenty,  imd  Fiinning  somcAvhere  about 
thirty  men;  but  Judge  Murphy  says  that  Fanning  had 
only  twenty  four  men  including  Captain  Andrews,  and  that 


COL.   DAVID    FANNING.  85 

twenty-six  men  surrendered  to  him.  I  have  no  disposition 
to  question  the  correctness  of  this  statement,  but  it  seems 
a  little  strange,  that  with  such  a  dis[»arity  of  numbers  in 
their  tavor,  Alston  and  his  party,  even  it  driven  to  extrem- 
ity by  having  the  house  set  on  fire,  shoukl  be  unwilUng 
to  meet  their  enemies  in  open  combat.  My  information 
was  obtained  partly  from  the  papers  of  Mr.  McBride  and 
partly  from  Dr  Chalmers,  who  now  lives  in  the  house 
which  was  then  occupied  by  Col  Alston.  In  addition 
to  the  reports  or  traditions  ot  the  neighborhood,  Dr  Chal- 
mers, two  or  three  summers  ago,  traveled  with  his  family 
through  he  State  of  Tennessee  and  became  acquainted 
with  the  sons  of  Col.  Alston,  from  whom  he  got  a  st^^'.te- 
ment  of  the  whole  transaction.  Col.  Alston,  himself,  hved 
only  a  short  time  after  the  war,  having  been  killed  as  I 
was  informed  by  a  negro  whom  he  had  treated  with  sever- 
ity or  provoked  in  some  way:  and  the  children  were  prob- 
ably too  young  at  the  time  to  have,  in  after  life,  a  very 
distinct  recollection  of  the  scene;  but  they  must  have  of- 
ten heard  the  facts  related  by  their  m  jther.  John  Spears, 
who  lived  down  the  river,  and  was  wounded  in  Alston's 
housL,  when  he  returned  urged  Captain  Cunningham, 
who  had  a  company  of  Whigs  then  under  his  command, 
to  pursue  Fanning;  but  he  declined;  and  Judge  Murphy 
says,  that  according  to  report,  '*a  company  of  Whigs  under 
Oapt.  Duck  were  lying  near  Alston's  house  and  heard  the 
firitig  from  the  morning  till  evening  and  feared  to  come 
to  Alston's  relief. 


CAPTURE  OF  CAMPBELTON,  NOW  FAYETTEVILLE. 

The  fact  is  that  the  very  name  of  Fanning  Avas  at  this 
time  quite  appaling,  and  he  was  regarded  byltll  in  that  re- 
gion, Whigs  and  Tories,  as  almost  invincible.  So  far  as 
my  recollection  serves  me,  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  heard 
ot  an  instance,  during  the  summer  of  1781,  in  wliieh  tho 
Whigs  showed  a  willmgness  to  meet  him  with  an  equal, 
or  any  thing  like  an  equal  number  of  men;  but,  within 
the  entire  range  of  his  operations,  no  effective  resistance 
was  made,  and  the  country  was  really  in  his  power.  I 
have  always  understood  that,  during  this  period,  the  sum- 
mer and  tall  of  1781,  he  had  about  eighty  men  who  w^ere 


36  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

either  constantly  with  liim  or  at  his  bidchng,  and  whom 
he  could  at   any   time  summon  to  his  presence  m  a  ciise 
of  emer<^encv;  that  he  seldom  had  less  than  thirty  or  tor- 
ty  and  that  when  Colonels  McNeill  and  McDouga  ,  united 
with  him,  they  could  muster  from  three  to  hye  hundred 
strono-      In  the  high  career  oi  successful  adyenture    and 
with  latterin- prospects  before  him,  it  appears  to  have 
been  his  object  to  take  as  many  prisoners  as  he  could  lor 
the  Briti.^i  camp,  and  to  bring  the  country  into  subjec- 
tion  to  British  authority.     He  seldom  murdered  any,  ex- 
ceptsuchas  had  proven    treacherous  to  his    cause,  and 
those  who  had  excited  his  wrath  by  uttering  threats  or  by 
resistino-  his  progress.     When  excited,  so  unpetuous  and 
vindictfve  was  his  temper,  that  whoever  had  given  him 
the  least  proyocation,  if  in  his  power,  was  sure  to  be  made 
the  victim  of  his  malice,  and  in  all  cases  the  process  was 

^  A?eTdayrafter  he  captured  Col.  Alston,  and  his  party, 
he  and  his  confederates  took  possession  of  Campbelton, 
now  Fayetteville,  and  carried  off  Col.  Emmet,  Captain 
Winslow,  and  other  leading  men,  prisoners;  but  the  best 
and  perhaps  the  only  authentic  account  ^yhlch  we  now 
have  of  this  transaction,  is  contained  m  the  tol  owing  letter, 
furnished  by  Goyernor  Svyain,  and  published  m  the  Uni- 
versity Magazine,  March,  1851. 

Col.  Emmet  to  Gov.  Burke. 

''Campbelton;'  19th.  August,  1781 

"Sir-— I  am  under  the  disao^reeable  necessity  of  inform- 
ins:  your  Excellency  that  on  Thursday  last,  the  14th.  mst., 

between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  this  town 
was  in  the  most  sudden  manner  imaginable,  surprised 
by  a  party  of  the  enemy,  under  the  command  of  Colonels 
Slin-slev,  Rav  and  McNeill.  They  entered  the  town  ir 
so  sudden  and  secret  a  manner  that  it  was  out  ot  the 
power  ot  any  man  who  was  in  it  to  make  his  escape.  J 
was  at  a  phmtation  I  have  about  a  mile  ofi,  ^len  I  was 
alarmed  by  a  party  of  about  twenty  horse.  ^  The  noise  oJ 

.  their  horses'  feet  just  gave  me  time  to  slip  into  a  swamp, 
where  Hay  until  the  party  left  the  plantation,  which  the^ 
did  as  soon  asthey  had  deprived  me  of  my  horses.  I  ther 
got  over  the  river,  wheu  I  learned  their  numbers  to   b< 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  37 

about  three  hundred.  I  was  likewi.se  informed  the  same 
evening,  that  McNeill,  with  one  hundred  men,  had  gone 
up  the  Hiver  on  the  west  side,  and,  not  being  able  to  judge 
where  they  might  intend  to  cross  the  river,  thought  it  my 
best  way  to  keep  where  I  was.  Had  I  done  so,  I  might  have 
kept  clear  of  them,  but  at  such  times  so  many  reports 
are  Hying,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  distinguishing 
the  true  one.  At  midnight,  between  the  16th  and  17th, 
word  was  brought  me  that  a  Col.  Fanning  came  down 
the  country  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  made  a  short 
stay  at  Cross  creek,  had  crossed  the  river  at  lower  Camp- 
bleton  late  in  the  evening,  and  at  that  time  was  encamp- 
ed, with  an  intention  in  the  morning  to  pursue  his  march 
np  the  river,  and  so  join  McXeill  on  the  east  side.  On 
this  information,  I  unfortunately  crossed  the  river,  early 
in  the  morning,  and  about  nine  o'clock  was  taken  a  pris- 
oner by  McNeill,  on  his  return  to  town. 

*'Il  was  not  my  intention  to  trouble  your  excellency 
with  this  tedious  relation,  by  way  of  intelligence.  I 
am  sure  you  do  not  expect  it  from  one  in  my  situation, 
but  as  I  have  many  private  enemies  in  this  count}*  who 
would  be  glad  to  lay  hold  on  any  circumstances  to  vilify 
my  conduct  and  blacken  my  name,  I  have  taken  the  lib- 
erty to  trouble  you  with  tbis,  by  way  of  vindication. 
With  all  deference,  I  remain,  sir, 
Your  Excellency's  obed't  serv't, 

James  Emmet. 

To  his  Excellency,  Thomas  Burke,  Esq.,  Governor  of 
N    Carolina" 

Let  the  reader  now  go  back  a  little  and  observe  the 
boldness  and  rapidity  with  which  all  the  above  victories 
were  achieved.  Besides  the  almost  daily  capture  of  some 
iniiuencial  individual  who  would  be  acceptable  to  the 
British  as  prisoners;  the  cutting  oft  of  such  as  were  par- 
ticularly obnoxious  to  him,  and  the  dispersion  of  small 
parties  of  armed  Whigs,  on  the  15th.  of  July  he  entered 
Pittsboro',  and  captured  all  the  ofticers  of  court,  with 
most  of  the  principal  citizens,  whom  he  delivered  in  a 
few  days  to  the  British  authorities  at  Wilmington;  on 
the  5th.  of  August,  he  captured  Col.  Alston  and  his  party 
in  his  own  house;  on  the  14th.  he  took  possession  of 
Campbelton  and  made  prisoners  of  the  principal  citizens; 
on  the  1st  of  September,  the  battle  was  fought  at  McFall's 
Mill,  on  the  Raft  Swamp,  where  he  gained  on  his  part  an 


38  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

almost  bloodless  victon-;  and  on  the  13th,  he  entered  Hills- 
boro',  and  captured  Governor  Burke,  with  his  whole  suite 
and  thirty  or  forty  ofthe  prominent  citizens.  This  was  per- 
haps his  most  famous  exploit —  the  one  which  spread 
more  alarm  over  the  country  than  any  other,  and  is  the 
only  one  ot  his  important  achievements  which  remains  to 
be  described. 


CAPTURE  OF  GOVERNOR  BURKE. 

With  whom  the  project  of  capturing  the  Governor  of 
the  state  and  delivering  him  to  the  British  at  Wilmington, 
originated,  is  not  known.  Perhaps  it  never  was  known 
to  more  than  two  or  three,  nor  is  it  a  matter  ot  much  con- 
sequence in  itself,  but  the  enterprise  was  one  ol  so  much 
boldness  in  its  conception  a*nd  so  much  enei'gy  and  hero- 
ism in  its  execution,  that  the  traditions  of  the  country 
have  ascribed  its  paternity  to  Colonel  Fanning,  p'lom 
some  clrcum.-tances  however,  whiln  he  was  the  mo^t 
prominent  and  efficient  actor  in  the  whoie  process,  I  am 
disposed  to  attribute  its  grigination  to  some  other.  The 
movement  WHS  one  of  peril  and  of  bold  adventure;  it 
necessarily  involved  the  loss  of  many  valuable  lives  on 
both  sides;  it  was  successful  beyond  any  roascJisable  ex- 
pectation; and  therefore,  being  vastly  important  in  its 
results  to  the  whole  community,  deserves  to  be  traced,  if 
possible,  from  its  inception  to  its  consummation;  but  in 
doing  so,  we  are  left  very  much  to  conjecture,  and  in  that 
sphere  every  one  must  think  or  judge  for  himself  If  it 
was  not  proposed  by  Major  Craig  at  Wilmington,  which 
we  think  very  likely,  it  was  probably  lirst  suggested  to 
Colonel  Ray,  or  some  one  of  the  Scotch  leaders,  by  the 
following  incidents,  which  were  rather  of  an  amusing 
character,  and  which  occurred  only  a  few^  days  before  they 
began  to  assemble  at  their  place  ot  rendezvous.  The  race 
is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong^  is  a  maxim  of 
the  highe-t  authority,  and  we  see  it  as  often  vivified  in 
military  operations  as  in  other  pursuits. 

As  tlie  Tories,  now  stimulated  by  the  proximity  of  a 
•British  torce  and  by  the  daring  achievements  of  Fanning, 
were  more  menacing  and  troublesome  than  they  had  been 
at  any  time  since  the  battle    of    Moore's   creek,   Colonel 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  39 

James  Ilinton,  of  Wake  county,  with  about  two  hundred 
and  liity  men,  crossed  the  Cape  Fear  and  penetrated  into 
the  north  side  of  Cumberland  County,  for  the  purpose  of 
subduing  or  dispersing  them.  John  McLean,  who,  I 
have  been  told,  had  been  a  Captain  in  the  Tory  army  and 
was  still  a  h)yalist,  but  not  so  zealous  in  the  cause  as 
some  others,  lived  on  the  north  side  of  upper  Little  river, 
on  one  of  its  tributaries,  and  his  mill  was  known  to  be  a 
place  of  resort  for  the  Tory  corps  that  were  embodying  in 
that  region.  Hinton  went  to  McLean's  first,  but  was 
disappointed  in  not  finding  his  enemies.  However,  as  they 
were  in  pretty  good  quar^ters  and  supposed  they  had  no 
cause  to  apprehend  any  danger,  they  were  in  no  hurry  to 
get  away.  The  captain  was  not  there  to  receive  his  visit- 
ors and  treat  them  with  the  best  he  had;  but  they  concluded 
that  they  w^ould  make  free  and  "Johnny  Penny  like,"  help 
themselves  to  whatever  they  preferred.  Some  of  them 
cut  down  corn  for  their  horses  and  others  turned  theirs 
into  the  HM.  They  killed  a  beef  or  two,  got  some  other 
articles  of  provisions,  and  in  fine  spirits,  commenced  ma- 
king preparations  for  dinner. 

About  the  same  number  of  Tories  were  at  no  great  dis- 
tance, embodied  under  McLean,  McDougal,  Malcolm  Mc- 
Kay and  Archibald  McKay;  but  ihey»were  some  eight  or 
ten  miles  ubove,  near  the  mouth  of  Jones'  creek.  Having 
got  some  intelligence  of  Hinton's  visit  in  the  neighbor- 
hood and  wishing  to  approach  him  very  cautiously,  in- 
stead of  taking  the  ridge  road,  which  was  much  the  near- 
est and  best,  they  followed  the  meanderings^  of  the  river, 
and  near  the  Beaver  ponds,  captured  Barganier  and  Ghol- 
son,  then  on  their  way  to  join  Hinton.  An  old  man  of  that 
neighborhood,  by  the  name  of  William  Kennedy,  followed 
his  Tory  friends,  whether  for  the  purpose  of  joining  them  or 
for  some  other  reason,  is  not  now  recollected;  but  betook 
the  ridge  road,  which  was  much  the  nearest,  and  when  he 
got  there,  instead  of  finding  his  friends,  as  he  expected, 
he  found  the  place  occupied  by  a  crowd  of  strangers.  As 
the  men  were  all  out,  some  attending  to  their  horses  and 
others  occupied  in  different  ways,  he  saw  nobody  in  the 
house,  and  walking  through  the  kitchen  door,  he  asked 
the  old  negro  woman,  Saph,  who  those  men  were?  but 
she  replied,  rather  equivocally,  "They  are  your  own  coun- 
try people."  With  much  haste  and  agitation,  he  repeated 
the  question  t\vo  or  three  times;  but  always  got  the  same 


40  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

equivocal  answer.  On  seeing  some  of  the  Whigs  ap- 
proaching, and  being  perfectly  aware  of  his  clanger,  with- 
out some  device,  he  stepped  out  quickly  into  the  open 
space  before  the  door,  and  clapping  his  liands  with  great 
earnestness,  exclaimed  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Clear 
yourselves  or  you  will  all  be  taken  prisoners  I  Clear 
yourselves  for  Colonel  Fanning  is  coming  round  the  lield 
with  five  hundred  men  !  Clear  yourselves  or  you  will  all 
be  surrounded  and  taken  prisoners!  Clear  yourselves!" 
From  his  manifesting  so  much  earnestness  and  so  much 
apparent  concern  for  their  safety,  they  could  hardly  doubt 
his  good  intentions,  and  they  had  no  time  to  parley  or 
reflect.  Mounting  their  horses  in  haste  and  telling  him 
to  come  along,  they  galloped  away  over  the  bridge  and 
in  much  confusion.  He  did  not  object  to  go  with  them; 
but  he  must  first  get  his  horse.  After  crossing  the  bridge 
and  finding  that  Kennedy  was  neither  with  them  nor 
following  them,  they  began  to  think  there  was  no  danger 
and  some  of  them  returned  to  search  tor  the  man  wbo 
had  given  such  a  false  alarm ;  but  he  had  got  what  he 
wanted,  an  opportunity  to  escape,  and  was  not  to  be 
found.  The  Whigs  encamped  for  the  night  a  little  above 
the  bridge;  but  had  not  entirely  recovered  from  their  pan- 
ic: and  their  circumstances  required  circumspection,  for 
they  could  not,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  encoun- 
ter an  army  of  five  hundred,  with  Fanning  at  their  head, 
and  in  their  own  country,  where  they  were  all  acquainted 
with  the  swamps,  and  where  they  might,  in  a  few  hours, 
be  reinforced  by  a  much  larger  number. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  the  Tories  arrived,  but  found 
no  Whigs.  One  braggadocio  Idustered  much,  and  was 
quite  distressed  because  the  Whigs  were  not  there — ''that 
they  might  give  them  such  a  drubbing;"  but  old  Daniel 
McPherson  thanked  God  that  they  were  gone.  Early 
next  morning,  sentinels  were  placed  at  the  bridge. 
These  sentinels,  on  seeing  two  or  three  men,  who  when 
hailed,  said  they  were  for  the  country,  fired  on  them. 
This  gave  the  alarm  at  the  house  and  they  all  marched  in 
battle  array  down  the  hill  and  over  the  bridge,  but  still  they 
found  no  Whigs;  for,  becoming  apprehensive,  it  seems, 
from  the  firing  of  the  sentinels,  that  Fanning,  with  five 
hundred  men,  was  close  at  hand,  they  had  mounted  and 
fled  in  haste  to  the  Cape  Fear  river.  They  crossed  at 
a  ford  called  the  Fox  Islands,  and  encamped  for  the  night 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  41 

a  little  above  Col.  McAlister's.  The  Tories  followed  them 
to  the  river,  but  did  not  cross.     IsText  morning  the  Wljigs 
went  up  the  river  to  the   cross-roads,    about    half  a  mile 
abov'e  Atkin's  terry,  where  they  halted   for  retreshment, 
and  placed  seiitinels   at   the    river,  just  above  the  terry. 
They  killed  two  beeves  and  some  sheep,  turned  their  horses 
into   a  fine  pasture,   and  were  preparing  for  a  good  feast. 
Some  were  roasting  their  meat,  on  spits  betore  the  lire, 
and  some  had  begun  to  eat,  when  tlie  Tories  fired  on  the 
sentinels  across  the  river;  and  directly  a  dozen  guns  were 
fired.      Becoming   alarmed   again,  they  mounted    their 
borses  and  fled,  some  leaving  their  meat  roasting  on  spits 
before  the  fire,  and  some  leaving  both  the  bread  and  meat, 
which  they  were  eating,  just  lying  on  the  ends  of  fence 
rails.     They  had  a  few  IScotcb  prisoners,  chiefly  men  and 
boys — such  as  Hugh  Ochiltree,  John  McLean,  Irom  In- 
dian branch,  and  his  son  Neill,  Malcom  McPhail,  Malcom 
Graham,   Archibald  McLean  and  a  few  others,  about  a 
dozen  in  all.     As  none  of  them  were  men  of  influence, 
and  as  there  was  no  time  for  delay,  they  just  lett  them  at 
the  river,  and  without  giving  them  any  orders  or  instruc- 
tions what  to  do.      The    Whigs,    after   getting   into  the 
Kaleigh  road,  about  half  a  mile,  drew  up  across  the  road 
and  made  preparation  to  receive  their  enemies;  but  their 
prisoners,  finding  that  they  had  been  so  unceremoniously 
left  betiind,  began  to  consult  among  themselves  whether 
they  had  better  return  home,  remain  there,  or  tollow  their 
captors;  but  it  was  finally  concluded  that  it  they  returned 
home,  the  Whigs  should   they  come  back  again  at   any 
time,  might  accuse  them  of  breaking  custody  and   treat 
them  w^ith  severity;  and  that  they  had  better  follow  on 
and  stay  with  them,  at  least  until  they  knew  what  dispos- 
al was  to  be  made  ot  them.      With  this  intention  they  all 
set  ofi* together;  but  the  men  under  arms,  on  seeing  their 
heads  through  the  bushes,    as  they  were  ascendinj:  the 
hill  in    front,   supposed   them  to   be  their  enemies  in  hot 
pursuit,    with  Fanning  at  their  head,   and   again   fled  iii 
much  confusion 

Atter  going  seven  or  eight  miles,  they  took  up  the  camp 
for  the  night ;  and  next  morning,  as  the  ten  days  for  which 
the  men  had  engaged,  were  expired,  they  were  all  disban- 
ded and  returned  home,  except  Captain  Hadley's  compa- 
ny, which  continued  up  in  that  direction,  and  was  at  the 
battle  of  Cane  creek.     The  conduct  of  the  Whi^^s  on  this 


42  KEYOLUTIO^^\IlY   IKCIDENTS. 

occasion,  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  cowardice,  but  to  tLe  a- 
laim  whicb  they  got  at  McLean's,  and  from  which  they 
had  not  yet  recovered.  Their  conduct  is  still  made  the 
subject  of  much  amusement  in  that  region;  but  without 
due  regard  to  the  circumstances.  We  all  know,  how  of- 
ten men  under  arms  become  mj'steriously  or  unaccounta- 
bly panic  struck,  and  utterly  unlit  for  any  manly  exercise 
ofthur  powers..  This  often  Ijappens  with  veteran  and 
well  disciplined  soldiers,  but  much  oftener  with  militia. 
These  men  had  left  home  with  little  or  no  camp  equipage, 
and  without  any  other  arms  than  such  as  they  carried  in 
their  hands.  Having  engaged  lor  only  ten  days,  they  re- 
garded it  as  an  excursion  of  pleasure  rather  than  as  an  en- 
terprise full  of  toil  and  peril.  Expecting  to  capture  or 
disperse,  in  a  few  days,  all  the  Tories  they  could  lind,  they 
never  thought  of  meeting  with  any  serious  opposition. 
When  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  ol  enemies,  with 
an  armed  force  at  least  equal  in  number  to  their  own,  with- 
in a  few  miles,  who  were  probably  increasing  every  hour, 
and  who,  instead  of  avoiding,  were  seeking  for  them,  the 
case  was  altered,  and  they  were  compelled  to  take  care  of 
themselves;  but  when  they  learned,  or  were  led  to  believe, 
that  an  armed  body,  of  at  least  double  their  number,  with 
Panning  at  their  head,  were  in  pursuit,  alarm  was  unavoid- 
able, and  their  own  safety  became  the  paramount  object. 
The  panic  into  which  ihey  were  thrown  by  the  crafty  old 
Scotchman  only  showed  the  terror  of  Fanning's  name: 
and  was  very  much  like  many  others  which  were  produced 
about  that  time,  by  the  mention  of  hisnanie.  This  whole 
affair  Avas,  however,  an  unimportant  one  in  itself,  and 
would  hardly  deserve  our  notice,  but  for  the  bearing  which 
we  suppose  it  had  on  the  expedition  to  Hillsboro.  It  was 
Avell  calculated  to  increase  the  courage  ol  the  Tories;  and 
as  the  way  was  now  clear,  it  might  readily  have  suggested 
to  some  of  them  the  thought  ol  making  a  bold  push  im- 
mediately into  Hillsboro,  and  carrying  away  the  Governor. 
This  was  somewhere  about  the  first  of  September,  though 
the  precise  date  is  not  recollected;  and  on  the  fifth,  five  or 
six  hundred  of  them,  according  to  tradition,  had  assem- 
bled with  their  leaders,  on  the '''Dry  Fork,''  a  tributary  of 
Crane's  creek,  and  were  ready  for  marcliing  orders.  Miich 
the  largest  body  of  Tories  w^as  now  assembled,  that  appear- 
ed in  arms  at  any  one  time  after  independence  was  declar- 
ed; and,  according  to  tradition,  they  considered  themselves 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  43 

as  the  prime  movers  in  this  enterprise.  They  certainly 
were  the  principle  agents,  and  the  greatest  sufferers.  The 
flower  of  the  Scotch  popuhition  were  in  this  embodiment; 
and  all  their  best  oihcers,  most  of  whom  had  been  mnch 
in  the  British  service,  and  in  all  of  whom  they  had  full 
confidence  were  at  their  head. 

Colonel  McNeill  was  there,  and  had  the  command  of 
the  whole.  It  belonged  to  him,  according  to  military  use- 
age,  as  the  senior  oiiictr;  but  it  would  have  been  conced- 
ed to  him,  out  of  respect  as  the  oldest  man,  for  he  was  now 
advanced  in  life  and  had  the  full  confidence  of  all  who 
knevv  him.  Colonel  Duncan  Ray,young,  talented  and  en- 
terprising, was  also  present;  and  Colonel  McDougal, 
though  he  was  not  made  Colonel  until  afterwards,  and 
then  held  no  higher  rank,  as  I  am  told,  than  that  of  Cap- 
tain or  Major.  These  had  all  been  much  in  the  British 
service,  and  had  the  unlimited  confidence  of  their  country- 
men. Fanning  may  possibly  have  been  the  originator 
and  the  master-spirit  of  this  whole  enterprise  ;  but  he  was 
not  with  them  when  they  were  assembling;  nor  when  they 
commenced  their  march  Tradition  says  that  he  had  the 
separate  command  of  his  own  corps,  and  merely  co-opera- 
ted with  them,  acting  on  his  own  responsibility  and  as  oc- 
casion required.  Governor  Swain,  in  his  communication 
to  the  University  Magazine,  or  rather  Judge  Murphy,  says 
that  when  Fanning  and  McNeill  united  for  the  purpose  ot 
striking  sudden  and  effective  blows,  at  remote  and  effec- 
tive points,  they  commanded  alternately  day  by  day;  and 
this,  we  may  suppose  ,was  sometimes  the  fact,  especially  in 
the  early  part  of  their  career,  before  Fanning  had  got  much 
experience,  or  had  attained  much  celebrity ;  but,  accord- 
ing to  the  most  reliable  traditions  I  have  heard,  it  was  not 
a  general  or  frequent  thing;  for,  I  am  told,  that  the  Scotch 
would  not  fight  under  him,  nor  be  commanded  by  him. 
They  disliked  his  character,  and  all  the  better  part  of  them 
abhored  his  atrocities.  In  those  days,  'tis  said,  they  v/ould 
not  fi^ht  under  any  other  than  a  Scotch  commander;  and, 
on  this  occasion,  they  merely  co-operated  with  him  for  the 
purpose  of  accomplishing  the  object.  He  was,  no  doubt,  the 
life  and  soul  ol  the  business,  and  gave  energy  and  success 
to  the  whole  movement.  His  courage  and  military  tact, 
which  would  have  made  him  a  prominent  character  any- 
where, now  gave  him  the  virtual  command;  and  gained 
for    him,  in   public    estimation  at  least,  the  honor  of  the 


44  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDEXTS. 

achievement.  Leaving  "Dry  Fork,"  the  place  of  their  ren- 
dezvous, on  the  morning  of  Septemher  the  6th,  and  keep- 
ing their  plans  concealed,  they  commenced  their  march 
up  the  country  and,  receiving  some  small  reinforcements 
a^  they,  advanced,  Colonel  Fanning  joined  them  on  or 
near  Deep  river.  With  the  moral  power  of  Fanning  to 
urge  them  on,  their  movements  were  rapid  and  they  met 
with  no  resistance  from  any  quarter. 

So  far  from  dreading  any  effective  opposition,  they 
were  determined  to  fight  their  way,  and  actually  cut  olf 
or  routed  the  only  collection  of  men  w^ho,  by  spreading 
the  alarm  and  serving  as  a  nucleus  for  an  ingathering  of 
Whigs,  could  have  given  them  any  trouble.  History,  I 
believe  makes  no  mention  of  the  skirmish  at  Kirk's  farm; 
yet  it  was  quite  a  spirited  affair,  and  is  worthy  of  record. 
Captains  Allen  and  Young,  of  Orange  county,  encamped 
for  the  night  on  Kirk's  farm,  on  the  east  side  ot  Haw  river, 
and  near  east  creek,  v.here  they  were  as  they  supposed, 
many  miles  from  any  tory  force,  and  were  apprehensive 
of  no  danger.  Whether  they  were  out  on  a  voluntary 
excursion,  or  had  belonged  to  Colonel  Hinton's  corps, 
which  had  been  disbanded  onlj  a  few  days  previous  and 
were  keeping  together  for  mutual  safety,  until  they  could 
get  into  a  stronger  Whig  neighborhood,  ^ve  have  not  learn- 
ed; but  they  were  only  twenty  or  twenty  two  in  number. 
They  were  attacked  by  about  twenty  five  or  thirty:  and  as 
they  were  taken  a  little  by  surprise,  the  result  was 
what  might  have  been  expected.  Fanning  who  appears 
to  have  been  remarkable  for  the  facility  and  accuracy 
with  whicL  he  got  information  respecting  every  thing  with- 
in the  range  of  his  operations,  did  not  deem  it  necessary 
to  go  himself,  but  sent  off  a  detachment  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Richard  Edwards.  With  characteristic 
boldnci-s  and  rapidity  of  movement  they  came  up  just 
as  the  day  was  dawning,  and  killed  the  sentinel  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Couch  who  had  been  posted  at  the 
end  of  the  lane,  then  retreating  a  short  distance  to 
a  thicket,  where  they  lay  in  ambush  and  awaited  the 
movements  of  the  other  party.  The  killing  of  the  sentinel 
gave  the  alarm  at  the  house,  and  the  party  marched  out 
under  Captain  Allen  to  give  them  battle,  or  rather  to  as- 
certain the  cause  of  the  alarm,  when  the  Tories  emerged 
from  their  concealrpent  and  a  severe  conflict  ensued,"  in 
which  some  important  livee  were  lost  on  both  sides,  and 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  46 


others  mortally  wounded.  Allen  and  Young  were  both 
severely  wounded;  thetormer  recovered,  but  the  latter  died 
of  his  wounds  within  a  few  days.  Captain  Edwards  was 
killed  on  the  spot;  and  ten  were  left  dead  on  the  field. 
Nearly  a  third  of  the  whole  number  engaged  were  either 
killed  or  wounded;  and  some  of  the  latter  died  of  their 
wounds  within  a  few  days.  I  have  given  the  main  facts 
in  this  affair  as  I  found  them  in  McBride's  memoranda; 
but  that  the  assailants  vv^ere  a  detachment  from  Fanning's 
corps,  I  infer  from  the  following  facts.  It  w^asjust  at  the 
time  when  they  were  on  their  way  to  Hillsboro',  and  was 
a  very  little  off  their  route;  it  was  not  more  than  four  or 
five  days  before  the  battle  at  Cane  creek;  and  the  detach- 
ment was  commanded  by  Richard  Edwards,  who  was 
then  a  captain  under  Fanning.  There  were  then  in  Fan- 
ning's corps  three  brothers  by  the  name  of  Edwards — 
Richard,  Edward  and  Meredith;  and  two  of  them  are 
known  to  have  been  in  the  skirmish  at  Kirk's  farm. 
V/hen  Richard  was  killed,  one  of  the  others,  Edward  we 
believe  took  the  command ;  and  he  is  said  to  have  been 
killed  the  next  week  at  the  battle  of  Cane  creek.  We  sim- 
ply state  the  facts,  and  leave  the  reader  to  form  his  own 
op  hi  ion. 

The  capture  of  the  Governor  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable feats  of  the  Tories  during  the  w^ar,  and  one  of 
the  most  memorable  events  in  North  Carolina.  "On  the 
first  of  September  the  battle  w^as  fought  at  McFall's  Mills, 
on  the  Raft  Sw^amp,  and  on  the  13th,  about  daylight.  Fan- 
ning and  McNeill  entered  Hillsboro',  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment, by  different  roads,  seized  Governor  Burke,  his  suite 
and  other  prominent  persons,  and  proceeded  with  their 
usual  celerity  fow^ards  Wilmington."  Having  entered 
the  town  in  opposite  directions  and  by  the  dawn  of  day, 
before  any  body  was  apprised  of  their  coming,  they  were 
enabled  to  take  nearly  every  man  they  wished;  but  their 
first  object  was,  of  course,  the  Governor  and  suite.  The 
jail  guard  finding  that  Governor  was  captured  and  per- 
ceiving their  own  danger;  assumed  the  badge  of  their  en- 
emies, by  substituting  oat  straw  in  their  hats  for  their 
deer  tails,  and  thus  attempted  to  ride  through  the  Tories 
in  the  streets ;  but  Fanning  recognized  them  at  once  and 
cried  out,  "The  rebels!  the  rebels!"  then  rushing  upon 
them  with  the  fury  of  a  tiger,  he  broke  his  sword  on  th^ 
steel  plate  in  the  cap  which  was  upon  one  of  their  heads. 


46  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

Having  secured  the  Governor  and  all  the  prisoners  they 
wanted,  some  of  them  engaged  in  drinking  and  robbing 
the  stores.  Alter  plundering  the  town,  their  next  move 
was  to  break  open  the  jail  and  release  the  prisoners,  but 
to  remain  long  there  was  neither  policy  nor  interest;  and 
as  Capt.  John  McLean  did  not  drink,  the  prisoners  were 
committed  to  his  charge  Some  of  the  men  who  engaged 
in  plundering  the  stores  became  so  drunk  that  they  could 
not  get  away  and  had  to  be  left  behind.  The  Whigs  then 
rallied,  and  they  were  taken  prisoners. 

Among  the  prisoners  were  William  Kinchen  and  Col. 
John  Mebane;  but  Col.  Alexander  Mebane,  made  his  es- 
cape by  leaving  a  very  vakiable  horse  to  the  care  of  the 
enemy,  and  taking  it  on  loot  through  the  high  weeds 
which  had  grown  up  very  densely  in  the  cross  streets. 
Then  returning  to  his  home  and  Iriends,  in  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  HaAviields,  with  all  the  haste  he  could,  he 
spread  the  alarm  among  the  Whigs,  and  collected  as  many 
of  them  as  could  be  got  togcthei  on  the  spur  of  the  occa- 
sion. General  Butler  who  lived  on  the  west  side  of  the 
congregation  near  the  place  where  Judge  liuflin's  mill 
now  stands,  being  notified,  came  and  took  command  of 
the  men.  A  much  larger  number  might  have  been  soon 
rallied  for  the  rescue  of  the  Governor;  for  that  was  one 
of  the  strongest  Whig  neighborhoods  east  of  the  Yadkin  ; 
but  as  Fanning  was  so  notorious  for  the  boldness  and  ce- 
lerity of  his  movements,  whatever  was  done  bad  to  be 
done  with  the  utmost  despatch.  Having  ascertained  that 
the  party  with  the  Governor  and  suite  in  charge,  were 
crossing  the  river  and  intended  going  down  on  the  west 
side  as  the  nearest  and  most  expeditious  route  to  the  To- 
ry region,  their  object  was  to  get  beiore  them  and  occupy 
some  favorable  position.  The  ground  at  John  Alston's 
mill,  a  little  above  or  below  what  is  now  Lindley's,  ap- 
peared the  most  suitable,  and  there  they  made  their  stand. 

The  number  engaged  on  either  side  is  not  known  with 
any  degree  of  certainty,  but  according  to  the  best  tradi- 
tionary accounts,  or  those  which  st  emed  to  be  most  wor- 
thy of  credit,  the  Tories  had  about  six  hurdred  and  the 
Whigs  about  three  hundred  a  little  more  or  less.  The 
Scotch  say  that  they  must  have  had  about  six  hundred, 
for  they  had  five  hundred  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  in 
the  lower  side  of  Moore  county,  and  after  they  commenced 
their  march  they  received  two   or   three  accessions,  of 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  47 

which  Faniiing's  corps  was  one;  and  we  can  hardly  sup- 
pose that  to  have  consisted  of  less  than  fifty  or  sixty. 
The  night  before  the  battle,  old  Colonel  McNeill,  who 
seems  to  have  had  the  exclusive  command,  at  least  of  the 
Scotch,  on  this  expedition,  had  a  presentiment,  or  what  he 
regarded  as  a  presentiment,  of  his  death.  We  say  noth- 
ing here  about  the  reality  of  such  impressions, 
nor,  if  real,  about  the  source  from  which  they  come;  but 
his  was  by  no  means  a  solitary  case  of  the  kind.  Officers 
of  high  standing  in  their  profession  and  of  undoubted 
courage,  have  often  had,  on  the  eve  of  a  battle,  such 
a  presentiment  or  impression  of  their  approaching  fate  as 
to  become  depressed  in  spirits  and  comparatively  inactive. 

Several  such  instances  occurred  on  both  sides,  during 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  with  men  who  could  not  be 
charged  with  idle  fears  or  superstitious  notions.  Col  Mc- 
Neill, on  this  occasion,  felt  constrained  to  disclose  the 
state  of  his  mind  to  some  of  his  friends  who  tried  to  laugh 
or  reason  him  out  of  his  sombre  mood,  but  in  vain.  The 
brave  old  Hector  who  had  witnessed  more  appalling 
scenes  than  the  one  now  before  him  and  had  stood  firm 
when  a  thousand  deathful  balls  were  fiying  around  him, 
quailed  when  summoned,  and  so  distinctly,  as  he  supposed, 
to  appear  in  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  that  there  was  no 
possibility  of  escape.  He  was  not  a  man  however  who 
would  bear  the  charge  of  cowardice,  nor  would  he  shrink 
from  what  he  considered  his  duty  on  such  an  occasion. 

It  was  known  that  the  Whigs  were  gathering  and  that 
they  might  expect  a  conflict  in  the  course  of  the  day;  but 
precisely  when  and  where  was  entirely  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture. In  the  morning,  old  Hector  like  Ahab,King  of  Isreal, 
when  going  up  to  battle  at  Ramoth  Gilead  laid  aside  his 
regimentals,  and  appeared  atjthe  head  of  his  men  in  disguise, 
clothed  in  a  hunting  shirt  and  other  parts  of  dress  corres- 
ponding, very  much  like  a  common  soldier;  but  his  time 
was  come  and  his  destiny  could  not  be  changed.  No  dis- 
guise could  conceal  him  from  the  eye  of  the  Omniscient  one 
and  no  artifice  could  countervail  his  unerring  purposes. 
It  is  easy  for  him  to  conquor  by  many  or  by  few,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  resources  or  apparent  advan- 
tages of  one  over  another,  he  controls  every  thing  and 
gives  the  victory  to  whom  he  pleases. 

As  the  Tories  were  crossing  the  creek,  and  advancing 
through  a  hollow  or  strip  of  low  ground,  along  which  the 


48  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

road  led,  the  Whigs,  from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  on  the 
south  side  oi  the  stream,  gave  them  a  deliberate  lire,  and 
with  tremendous  etfect.  They  were  taken  very  much  by 
surprise,  and  quite  a  number  were  killed  and  wounded,  as 
they  approached  the  stream,  and  before  any  danger  was 
known  or  apprehended.  Captain  McLean  haUed  his  men 
in  the  rear  and  they  all  sat  down  to  rest.  On  hearing  the 
first  fire  of  the  Whigs,  Governor  Burke,  and  most  of  the 
prisoners  jumped  to  their  feet  and  looked  about;  but  the 
Captain  told  them  to  be  quiet ;  for  if  they  attempted  to  es- 
cape they  should  every  one  be  shot  down;  and  they  had 
to  obey.  Colonel  McXeill,  on  seeing  so  many  of  his  men 
cut  down  by  the  first  lire,  and  perceiving  that  if  they  con- 
tinued to  advance,  it  would  be  at  a  great  sacrifice  of  life, 
ordered  a  retreat;  but  McDougal  cursed  him,  and  asked 
him  if  he  was  not  going  to  face  his  enemies — "Was  that 
the  encouragement  he  was  giving  to  his  men  ?"  The  or- 
der was  then  countermanded,  and  they  attempted  to  pro- 
ceed. 

At  the  next  fire  of  the  Whigs,  five  or  six  balls  entered 
the  Colonel's  body,  and  he  fell  dead  on  the  spot.  80  did 
several  others,  and  many  more  were  woundnd.  When 
he  fell,  some  one  thoughtlessly  cried  out,  *'The  Colonel  is 
dead."  *'It's  a  lie,"  exclaimed  McDougal,  in  a  bold,  strong 
voice,  "Hurra,  my  boys,  we'll  gain  the  day  yet."  His 
death  was  very  prudently  concealed,  for  many  of  the 
Scotch  declared  alterwards,  that  had  it  been  known  at  the 
time,  they  would  not  have  fired  another  gun,  but  would 
have  sought  for  safety  in  any  way  they  could.  At  this 
juncture,  the  principal  officers  got  together  for  hasty 
counsel,  or  for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  on  some  one  to 
take  the  command ;  but  those  highest  in  office  all  refused, 
and  they  seemed  to  be  at  their  ''wit's  end."  At  length, 
some  one  said,  ''Perhaps  McDougal  will  take  the  com- 
ipand ;  "  and  instantlj^  every  eye  w^as  turned  to  him,  if 
not  "imploringly,"  at  least  with  a  strong  expression  of  as- 
sent. He  accepted  ;  and  nobly  did  he  meet  the  responsibili- 
ties which  he  had  assumed.  According  to  the  traditions  in 
this  region,  when  McNeill  fell,  the  command  devolved  on 
Fanning,  of  course,  as  the  one  next  highest  in  office  ;  but 
the  traditionary  accounts  of  the  Scotch  are  difierent;  for, 
according  to  them,  they  would  not  be  commanded  by  him, 
and  he  would  not  be  under  any  other.  He  was  therefore  re- 
garded merely  as  a  co  adjutor,  responsible  only  to  himself, 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  49 

and  having  the  command  of  none  except  his  own  men ; 
but  with  them,  as  it  appears,  he  actually  did  more,  in  a 
few  minutes,  to  make  an  impression  on  his  enemies,  and 
arrest  the  tide  of  success,  than  all  the  rest  effected  with 
their  veteran  officers  and  military  tactics,  during  the  whole 
of  the  action. 

Amidst  all  this,  success  on  the  part  of  the  Whigs,  and  all 
this  disaster  and  contusion  among  the  Tories,  Fanning 
contrived  to  cross  the  stream  at  another  place,  or  to  ascend 
the  hill  at  another  point,  and,  by  making  a  little  circuit, 
attacked  his  enemies  in  the  rear.  J[3eing  thus  taken  by 
surprise,  the  Whigs  were  thrown  into  momentary  confu- 
sion, but  quickly  recovered ;  and,  for  a  short  time,  the  con- 
test was  tierce  and  bloody.  I^early  every  Whig  who  was 
killed  during  the  action  fell  at  this  time,  and  in  the  course 
of  ten  or  twelve  minutes.  The  charge  of  Fanning  was  fu- 
rious untill  his  arm  was  broken  by  a  ritle  or  musket  ball, 
and  he  was  carried  jff  the  field,  when  the  next  officer  in 
rank,  we  suppose,  took  the  command.  Probably,  it  was 
on  seeing  this  havoc  made  of  the  Whigs  by  this  manoeu- 
vre of  Fanning's,  and  viewing  their  situation  as  now  des- 
perate, considering  the  disparity  of  numbers,  that  Gener- 
al Butler  ordered  a  retreat,  and  commenced  it  himself. 
The  men,  in  obedience  to  orders,  were  following  his  exam- 
' pie, when  Col.  Robert  Mebane  got  before  them,  and  by 
arguments  and  remonstrances,  so  far  inspired  them  with 
his  own  heroic  spirit  that  enough  of  them  returned  to  re- 
new the  battle  and  keep  the  ground.  It  seems  *to  have 
been  at  hist  a  drawn  battle  ;  for  neither  party  claimed  the 
victory,  and  neither  appears  to  have  kept  the  ground  for 
any  length  of  time.  The  Tories  were  glad  to  get  away 
with  their  prisoners,  and  the  Whigs  became  willing  to  let 
them  go.  A  few  years  ago,  an  old  Quaker  friend,  who 
appeared  to  have  been  well  informed  on  this  subject,  and 
whose  powers,  though  he  was  then  about  fourscore,  were 
unimpaired  by  age,  told  me  that  Col.  McDougal,  after  he 
took  the  command,  came,  under  great  excitement,  and — 
to  use  his  own  language, — ^'in  a  foam  of  sweat,"  to  the 
house  in  which  the  prisoners  were  then  kept,  and  took  an 
oath  that  if  the  Whigs  did  flank  him,  as  they  were  trying 
to  do,  and  drive  him  to  extremities,  he  would  put  his 
prisoners  all  to  death,  before  he  would  suffer  them  to  be 
taken  from  him.  Whether  this  determination  became 
known  to  the  Whigs  at  that  time,  and  had  any  iufluenoe 


60  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDEN'TS. 

in  consing  them  to  give  up  the  contest,  my  inforinaiit 
ooiild  not  tell  ;  but  if  they  were  apprised  of  it,  we  pre- 
Bunie,  they  would  prefer  ihat  their  iriends  sJjould  remain 
prisoners,  than  that  they  should  be  shot,  en  wasse,  hy  their 
captors.  At  all  events  the  battle  appears  to  have  ended 
by  inutual  consent,  and  both  must  have  left  the  ground  a- 
bout  the  same  time.  The  tradiiion  among  the  Whigs, 
has  been,  that  they  kept  the  ground,  and  the  tradition  a- 
mong  the  Tories,  is  that  they  kept  it;  but  neither  coukl 
claim  it  on  very  decisive  evidence  ;  and  as  the  VVhigs  slow- 
ly withdrew  or  slackened  their  lire,  the  Tories,  glad  to  get 
away,  moved  oti  with  their  prisoners  towards  Wilmington. 

Very  little  was  known  about  the  battle  at  Moore's  creek, 
at  least  by  the  piesent  generation,  and  very  little  was  said 
about  it,  until  recently.  Within  two  or  three  years,  some 
of  our  ablest  men  have  given  it  their  attention;  and  since 
the  facts  have  been  brought  to  light,  it  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  important  events  during  the  war.  If  some 
one  who  is  competent  to  the  task  would  undertake  it,  and 
fairly  ascertain  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  battle  on 
Cane  creek,  it  would  be  found  that  there  was  quite  as 
much  military  tact  and  courage  displayed  as  at  Moore's 
ereek;  ^•nd,  in  propotion  to  the  whole  number  engaged, 
there  was  certainly  much  more  bloodshed  and  destruction 
of  life.  A  more  bold  and  deliberate  act  of  courage  is 
hardly  on  record  than  was  done  by  Col.  Robert  Mebane 
in  the  hottest  of  the  battle.  In  the  midst  of  the  conflict 
with  Fanning,  when  the  W'higs  must  have  been  nearly 
between  two  fires,  as  the  Scotch  were  advancing  up  the 
hill,  they  got  out  of  ammunition  and  Mebane  walked 
slowly  along  the  line,  carrying  his  hat  full  of  powder  and 
telling  every  man  to  take  a  handful,  or  just  what  he  needed. 
The  day  was  warm,  the  14th  of  September,  we  suppose, 
and  near  the  middle  of  the  day,  as  the  battle  commenced 
about  10  o'clock;  and  by  wiping  the  sweat  of!  his  face 
with  his  hands,  after  handling  the  powder,  w^hen  he  got 
through,  his  face  was  nearly  as  black  as  the  powder  itself. 
The  precise  number  ot  killed  and  wounded  is  not  known, 
and  cannot  be  readily  ascertained;  but  it  was  rather  larger, 
in  propotion  to  the  whole  number  than  was  usual  in  bat- 
tles of  that  period. 

Neither  Whigs  nor  Tories  really  kept  the  ground  and 
attended  to  the  burying  of  the  dead;  but  next  morning  the 
neighbors  met  there  and  buried    thirty-two    in    one   pit. 


COL,    DAVID    FANNING.  51 

Besides  these,  according  to    tlie  coacirrcnt    tralitioa  of 
b(>::h  parties,  in  uiy  of  tlie  deii  were  carried  away   by  the  r 
friends    and     baried     in     the    neighborhood.      Of    the 
wounded,  so:n 3  of  whom  coald  g3t  away  theLns3lves  and 
others  were  carried  away  by  their   friends    and   acquaint- 
ances, a  number  are  known  to  have  died  of  their  wjands, 
soon  after.     Between  the  foot  ot  the    hill   and  the   creek, 
the     dead     and     dying    were    strewed   about   in    every 
direction,  and   some   of  them   were   lying   in  the  water. 
One    of    the     Scotch     companies,    the    one    under   the 
command  of  Capt.  Archibald  M'Kay,  had   six    killed   on 
the    grounds     and     twenty-six       wounded;    some   other 
companies  suffered  equally  as  much  and    hardly   any    of 
them  escaped  entirely.     Some   ot   Fanning's   men    were 
killed;  but  he  was  so  repaid  in  his  movements  and  made 
such  havoc  wherever  he  went  that  his  corps  suffered   less 
than  the  others.     The  Whigs,  too,  lost  many,    and   some 
valuable  lives;  but,  according  to  their  traditionary  accounts, 
not  so  manv,  even  in  proportion  to  their  number,    as   the 
Tories.     Afriend,    in  writing   to    me   from    the    Scotch 
region,  says,  that  "including  all  of  both   sides   who    were- 
slain  on  the  fiild,  and  all  who  died  so  )n    after  in   coase- 
quence  ot  their  wounds,  the  number  could   not  be    much 
under  a  hundred;"  and  this  estimate,   which   looks   quite 
reasonable,  taking  everything  into  view,  we  suppose  to  be 
not  far  from  the  truth. 

Several  of  the  highest  officers  on  both  sides  were  killed 
and  nearly  an  equal  number  of  each.     These  were   men  of 
much  merit  as  officers,  and  their  death  was  a  great  loss  to 
their  respective  parties.      On  the  Whig  side  Mxjor  John 
Nails  and  Colonel  Lutteral  were  among  the  slain  "     In  the 
Scotch  traditions  I  find  that  Nails  has  the  rank  ot  Colonel 
assigned  to  him;  but  I  have  never   heard    him    called,   in 
this' region,   anything  but  Captain  or  Major  Nails;  and 
as  the  Tatter  seemed  to  be  more  frequently  applied  to  him 
than  the  former,  I  have  given    him    that    title.     He  was 
killed  near  the  close  of  the  battle  by   a  Tory  who  singled 
him  out  with  his  rifle  and  shot    him    dead    on    the    spot. 
Having  done  so,  and  seeing  three  of  the  Whigs  sitting  on 
their  horses  at  a  little  distance,  whom  he  mistook   tor  his 
own  party,  he  galloped  up  towards  them,  and  as  he  approa- 
ched called  out,  "I  have  just  killed  Major  Nalls;"^  hut  the 
words  were  hardly  out  of  his  mouth  until  three  pistol  balls 
entered  his  heart,  and  he  fell   dead.     Nails   left  a  widow 


52  HEYOLUTIOlsARY   INCIDENTS. 

and  family  of  youni(  children.  On  every  account  he  was 
much  esteemed  in  Chatham  county  where  he  lived;  and  as 
an  officer  he  was  highly  valued.  Vigilant,  enterprising 
and  rapid  in  his  movements,  he  was  dreaded  hy  the  Tories. 
Colonel  Lutteral  was  also  killed  about  the  close  of  the  bat- 
tle and  Avas  a  great  loss  to  the  country.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  brave  and  valuable  officer;  but  his  men 
thought  him  too  severe  in  his  discipline;  and  this  may  have 
given  rise  to  a  tradition  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  battle- 
ground that  he  was  kided  after  the  battle  was  over  by  a 
Whig.,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Frazer.  According  to  this 
account,  he  rode  back  after  both  parties  had  gone  away, 
to  look  over  the  scene  or  to  ascertain  the  number  of 
killed  and  wounded.  On  seeing  Frazer,  then  the  only 
man  on  the  ground  and  mistaking  him  for  a  Tory,  roVle 
up  and  fired  at  him  with  his  pistol  but  without  effect. 
Frazer  then  leveled  his  rifle  and  shot  him  thro'  the  body. 
IJe  did  not  fall  at  once,  but  rode  to  a  house,  something 
like  a  mile  off,  wheie  he  lived  only  a  few  hours,  and  was 
next  day  l^id  in  the  burying  ground  of  a  neighboring 
church.  The  Tory  account  is  more  plausible,  because  it 
is  corroborated  by  other  circumstances,  and  is  as  follows. 
Having  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  men  within  pistol 
shot  of  a  Tory  from  Eandolph,  by  the  name  of  Rains, 
who  was  in  the  act  of  loading  his  rifle,  and  fired  at  him 
with  his  pistol,  but  Avithout  effect.  He  then  wheeled  his 
liorse,  and  dashed  off,  to  get  out  of  reach  before  the  other 
would  be  ready  to  fire;  but  Eains,  having  finished  in  time^ 
levelled  his  gun  at  him,  when  at  full  speed,  and  shot  him 
through  the  body.  He  did  not  fall,  but  rode  to  a  house 
about  half  a  mile  distant,  where  the  good  people  took  him 
u[)  stairs  and  furnished  him  with  a  bed  and  every  comfort 
in  their  power.  While  lying  there,  bleeding  and  dying, 
lie  dipped  his  finger  in  his  own  blood  and  wrote  his  narne 
upon  the  wall.  The  house  stood  there  as  a  Monument  of 
the  Cane  creek  battle  and  of  Colonel  Lutteral's  death  until 
about  seven  or  eight  years  ago;  and  the  Colonel's  name 
retained  its  freshness  and  brilliancy  until  the  last.  There 
were  two  men  ])elonging  to  Fanning's  troop  by  the  name 
of  John  Eains,  ftither  and  son;  and  McBride  says  that  John 
Kains  Sen.,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cane  creek.  H  it 
was  he  who  killed  Nails  the  accounts  would  be  consistent; 
atid  it  is  possible  that  the  Scotch  while  they  have  correctly 
jireserved  the  facts  have  unwittingly  confounded  the  names. 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  58 

On  the  Tory  side,  two  officers  in  Fanning's  corps  are 
known  to  have  been  killed,  John  Rains  and  Edward  Ed- 
wards. The  latter  had  been  a  lieutenant  before,  as  we 
inter,  and  took  the  place  of  his  brother  Richard,  who  Avas 
killed  at  Kirk's  farm,  the  week  before.  It  is  probable 
that  he  still  commanded,  the  same  company  or  troop  at 
Cane  creek,  and  there  met  the  same  fate.  Of  the  Scotch 
division  Colonel  xMcXeill,  the  veteran  soldier  and  the 
brave  officer,  tell  at  the  second  tire;  and  the  promising 
and  much  beloved  Colonel  Dushee  Shaw  lay  at  his  side. 
He  was  a  mere  youth,  but  seemed  to  have  all  the  man- 
liness of  mature  age.  Modest  and  unassuming,  but  firm 
and  sagacious,  polished  in  his  manners,  heroic  in  his  spir- 
it and  chivalrous  in  his  bearing,  he  was  the  very  idol  of 
his  friends  and  there  was  great  lamentation  for  his  death. 
They  left  thirty-one  of  their  number  on  the  ground,  who 
were  too  badly  wounded  to  be  removed;  but  they  were 
nursed  and  cared  for,  some  by  the  neighbors  and  some  by 
their  friends  from  a  distance,  who  came  and  stayed  with 
them  until  they  died  or  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  go 
home.  Among  the  wounded  who  were  thus  left,  was  Mal- 
colm Downey,  whose  sister  Mrs.  ^eill  Murphy,  walked  all 
the  way  up  to  Cane  creek  from  Robeson  county,  some  sev- 
enty-live or  eighty  miles,  and  nursed  him  until  he  expired. 
She  was  the  n-Tother  of  the  Rev  Murdoch  Murphy,  deceas- 
ed, and  the  Honorable  John  Murphy,  late  Governor  of  Al- 
abama. Other  instances  of  a  similar  kind  might  be  related; 
but  we  wdll  let  one  suffice  for  many.  Such  women  deserve 
to  be  remembered  and  to  be  held  up  as  examples  of  firm- 
ness in  times  of  peril,  and  of  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  suf- 
fering humanity. 

At  such  a  time,  no  respect  is  paid  to  a  man's  opinions 
however  honestly  entertained;  and  but  little  allowance  is 
made  for  his  inoffensiveness  or  inactivity  in  the  cause 
which  he  approves.  Force  is  everj^thing,  and  wherever 
that  can  prevail,  conscience  and  everj'thing  else  is  disre- 
garded. There  were  two  brothers  by  the  name  of  James 
Torry  and  George  Torry,  who  were  Tories,  and  had  been 
with  the  Tories  previous  to  this  battle,  but  their  brother 
David  Torry,  was  a  Whig,  and  had  hitherto  staid  at  home. 
At  length,  however,  he  was  taken  prisoner  with  Hugh 
Laskly,  and  they  were  both  in  a  manner,  forced  to  join  this 
expedition  to  Hillsboro',atleast  they  were  induced  to  do  it 
against  their  judgment  and  all  their  principles  of  patriotism, 


64  BEVOLUTIOXARY  INCIDEXTa. 

rather  than  be  sent  to  the  prison  ships  at  Wihnlngton,  and 
they  were  both  among  the  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cane 
creek,  but  whether  both  or  either  of  them  died  I  have  not 
learnel  Pro!  ably  th'ie  were  other  cases  o:'  a  similar 
kind,  but  such  compul>ory  measures,  which  are  an  intol- 
erable hardship,  belong  exclusively  to  a  state  of  civil  war. 

A  Tory  who  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  battle  gave 
his  watch  to  the  miller  on  condition  that  he  would  bury 
him  when  dead;  and  the  miller tulfilled  his  promise,  but  a 
brother  Tory,  on  learning  that  the  miller  had  the  watch 
went  and  took  it  from  him.  Another  of  the  Tories  was 
found  dead  next  morning,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  place  of  action,  on  his  feet  or  apparently  supported  by 
his  feet,  and  leaning  against  a  tree,  but  without  any  wound 
that  could  poesibly  have  caused  his  death.  It  was  gener- 
ally believed  that  he  had  died  of  fright;  but  his  death  might 
have  been  occasioned  by  apoplexy,  an  elfection  of  the 
heart,  or  somthing  else. 

On  the  evening  of  the  battle,  or  very  soon  after,  a  lady 
by  the  name  of  Lindley,  wife  of  Simon  Lindley ,  was  shot  dead 
in  the  road  by  some  onti  lying  in  ambush,  audit  was  believ- 
ed to  have  been  done  by  her  own  husband.  Some  Whigs 
happened  to  be  near  enough  to  hear  the  report  of  the  gun, 
and  led  by  a  curiosity  or  a  suspicion  that  something  was 
wrong,  came  up  immediately  to  see  what  it  meant.  The 
lady  had  a  child  at  the  breast,  and  when  they  found  her  the 
child  was  trying  to  suck.  That  child  was  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Howard  county,  Indiana,  and  has  left  a  large  fam- 
ily. So  strong  was  their  suspicion  of  Lindley's  guilt,  that 
some  of  them  instantly  went  in  pursuit  and  soon  took  him 
prisoner.  They  brought  him  to  a  house  which  was  close  by 
and  set  one  of  their  number  to  guard  him  tor  a  short  time, 
until  the  rest  could  determine  what  they  would  do  with  him. 
It  was  rather  suspected,  though  there  was  no  proof  of  the 
fact,  that  the  guard  had  given  him  an  opportunity  to  run, 
and  he  took  through  the  orchard  between  J.  Newlin's  and 
William  Johnson's.  However,  the  alarm  was  given  and 
the  rest  all  ran  round  the  house  to  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. One  of  them  shot  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  the 
guard  as  the  one  which  Lindley  had  taken,  and  killed  liim 
without  seeing  him.  The  load  of  shot  struck  an  apple 
tree,  and  one  of  the  shot  glancing  off,  perchance,  struck 
Lindley  in  a  vital  part  and  killed  him  on  the  spot.  It  was 
believed  that  he,  having  become   apprehensive  that  she 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  55 

would  betray  liini,  had  waylaid  her  and  killed  her;  but  he 
haviucr  been  killed  so  soon  after,  without  any  investigation  of 
the  case,  it  w^as  impossible  to  ascertain  the  truth  by  any  or- 
dinary process.  8uch  is  the  tradition  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  most  cowardly  are  the  most  anxious  to  be  thought 
brave;  and  those  vrho  least  deserve  honors  are  the  most 
proud  of  them.  At  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  there 
was  a  man  present  from  the  immediate  neighborhood,  by 

the  name  of who  w^as  an  arrant  coward,  but  who 

had,  not  long  before,  got  the  office  or  the  title  of  Captain 
conferred  upon  him-     Whether  it  w^as  real  or  only  nomi- 
nal, I  did  not  learn.     Probably  it  was  a  kind  of  militia  ap- 
pointment by  his  Tory  neighbors;  but  he  was  so  proud  of  it 
thatfor  some  time  he'^had  made  his  wife  always  call  him 
Captain.  As  soon  as  the  action  commenced  he  became  very 
much  frightened  and  took  to  his  heels.  Tw^o  or  three  Whigs 
pursued  him  and  would  have  overtaken  him,  if  he  had  not 
suddenly  disappeared  in  a  way  which  seemed  to  them  rather 
mysterious.  Xear  the  mill  was  a  long,  high  rock  wdiich,  at 
the  lower  end,  terminated  in  a  precipice  some  twenty  feet 
high.  At  the  base  there  was  a  shelving  under,  or  a  recess  of 
some  kind,  which  made  a  very  comfortable  hog  bed  in  the 
winter,  and  in  which  a  man  if  fairly  ensconced  there,  could 
not  be  seen  except  from  the  ground  on  one  side.     As  this 
w^as  ihe  only  direction  he  could  take,  or  the  only  one  in 
which  the  danger  w^ould  not  be  as  great  as  where  he   was, 
he  took  the  rock  and  two  or  three  w^higs  pursued  him  to 
the  tar  end,  when  he  jumped  down  the  precipice  and^  dis- 
appeared.    His  pursuers  went  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice 
and  looked  down,  then  oft  on  every  side^  without  getting 
a  glimpse  of  him;  and,  concluding  that  it  w^as  not    worth 
while  to  spend  time  in  the  search,  they  returned  to  the 
scene  of  the  conflict.     In  the  afternoon,  when  he  thought 
the  danger  was  over,  he  went  home,  and  entered  the  house 
w^ithavery  distressed  countenance  looking  pale,  and  so 
weak  that  he  could  hardly  walk.     His  wdfe,  with  surprise 
and  alarm,  said  to  him,  '^why.  Captain,  what  in  the  ^world 
is  the  matter  with  you,  that  you  look  so  bad?"  "O,"  said 
he,  "don't  call  me  Captain  any  more.     lam  a  poor  wound- 
ed man,  shot  through  and  through,  and  the  blood  is  run- 
ning desperately."     Of  course  she  ran  up  to  him  in    per- 
lect  fright,  and  began  to  open  his  clothes,  in  order  to  see 
the  wounds,  and  do  what  she  could    for  him,  but  to   her 
great  mortification,  she  soon  found  that  it  was  not  blood 


'56  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

and  that  was  the  end  of  bis  military  career,  as  effectually 
as  if  he  had  been  shot  through  the  heart. 

A  friend  in  the  Scotch  region,  the  son  of  a  very  respecta- 
ble Whig  officer  during  the  war,  writes  to  me  that,  as  he 
has  been  credibly  informed,  he  thinks  the  Tories  had 
two  brass  cannon  at  Cane  creek;  but  owing  to  the  ad- 
vantageous position  of  the  Whigs,  they  could  make  no 
use  of  them  until  they  got  on  the  high  ground.  It  they 
bad  cannon,  it  is  probable  that  they  had  captured  it  with 
the  Governor  in  Ilillsboro' ;  and  such  I  believe  is  the  tradi- 
tionary account.'*'  By  the  desperate  attack  which  Fanning 
made  on  the  rear  of  the  Whigs,  such  a  diversion  or  contu- 
sion Avas  produced  that  the  Scotch  at  length  got  up  the  hill; 
but  they  had  been  so  roughly  handled  and  so  many  ot  their 
best  officers  and  men  had  been  either  killed  or  wounded, 
that  they  were  more  anxious  to  get  away  than  to  fight;  and 
the   Whigs  tacitly,  though  reluctantly,  consented  to  let 

*The  following  song,  which  was  made  by  some  one  of  the  corps,  not  long 
after  the  battle,  was  sent  tome  by  my  correspondent  in  that  region,  so  of- 
ten alluded  to  already,  who  says  that  he  wrote  it  down  as  it  was  repeated  to 
him,  not  long  since,  by  an  aged  Whig.  It  corroborates  the  suggestion 
made  awh'le  ago  that  the  cannon  were  taken  from  Hillsboru'  ;  and  the  tra- 
dition that  they  were  thrown  into  Lindley's  mill  pond,  may  be  true-  At  all 
events,  it  deserves  some  attention  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  thorough 
search  will  be  made. 

"The  Governor  and  Council  in  Hillsboro'  sought, 
To  establish  some  new  laws  the  Tories  to  stop  ; 
They  thought  themselves  safe,  and  so  they  went  on  with  their  show, 
l5ut  the  face  of  bold  Fanning  proved  their  overthrow. 
"We  took  Governor  iiurke  with  a  sudden  surprise. 
As  he  sat  on  his  horseback  and  just  ready  to  ride  ; 
We  took  all  their  cannon  and  colors  in  town, 
And  formed  our  brave  boys  and  marched  out  of  town  ; 
iJut  the  rebels  waylaid  us  and  gave  us  a  broadsiv'e, 
That  caused  our  brave  Col  net  to  lie  dead  on  his  side  ; 
The  flower  of  our  company  was  wounded  iull  sore, 
'Twas  Laptain  McNeill  and  two  or  three  more. 

The  Captain  McNeill  who  is  mentioned  in  the  song  as  having  been 
wounded,  was  Captain  JS'eill  McNeill,  from  upper  Little  river,  in  Cumber- 
land county 

them  go.  When  they  drew  off  from  the  scene  of  conflict 
they  turned  to  the  east  and  kept  down  the  stream  until 
they  came  to  what  is  now  known  as  Lindley's  mill ;  where 
a  few  of  the  Whigs  having  rallied,  they  had  another  lit- 
tle skirmish,  and  to  get  clear  of  an  incumbrance,  they 
threw  their  cannon  into  the  pond,  where  it  is  supposed, 
they  might  yet  be  found  if  a  proper  search  were  made. 
Expedition  was  a  paramount  object  with  them;  tor  a  little 
delay  would   give  the  Whigs  time  to  rally,  and  in   such 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  57 

numbers,  that  they  couhl  not  only  rescue  the  prisoners, 
but  take  them  too.  As  they  had  ei)gaged  in  the  expedi- 
tion not  to  tight,  unless  it  was  unavoidable,  but  to  capture 
the  Governor  and  as  many  of  the  most  active  patriots  as 
they  could,  victory  was  no  object  any  farther  than  it  was 
necessary  to  secure  their  retreat.  It  was  theretore  necessa- 
ry to  disencumber  themselves  of  everything  that  could  im- 
pede their  march,  and  to  act  altogether  on  the  defensive. 
They  had  made  a  tine  haul  and  had  got  a  number  of  'bigtish. 
Their  great  concern  now  was  to  get  them  safely  delivered 
to  the  British  authorities  in  Wilmington;  and  tor  this  pur- 
pose they  would  either  light  or  run  as  circumstances  might 
require.  This  would  surely  recommend  them  to  the 
King,  and  when  the  rebels  were  subdued,  give  them  a 
pre-eminence  in  the  country.  A  detea::  by  the  Whio*s, 
any  encounter  with  whom  was  not  sought  but  dreaded, 
would  have  blasted  all  their  hopes  and  been  a  source  of 
intense  and  enduring  mortitication 

A  few  of  the  Whigs  a  dozen  or  twenty  in  number,  did 
make  some  show  of  resistance  on  the  evening  ot  the  bat- 
tle or  next  morning,  at  a  place  a  few  miles  below  and  not 
far  from  the  toot  of  tlickory  mountain;  but  they  were  so 
few  that  they  were  soon  dispersed,  and  after  that  the 
way  was  clear.  They  soon  got  over  deep  river,  into  the 
Tory  region,  where  nearly  every  man  was  rejoiced  at  their 
success,  and  w^as  ready  to  lend  them  a  succ  jring  hand 
and  bid  them  God  speed 


PURSUED  BY  GENERAL  BUTLER. 

It  is  stated  in  Wheeler's  history  of  North  Carolina  that 
^'General  Butler  endeavored  to  intercept  them  with  a 
superior  force,  and  did  so  at  Lindley's  mill  on  Cane  creek, 
wfiere  an  engagement  took  place  on  the  following  day." 
I  presume  the  author  had  some  good  authority  tor  the 
statement,  and  I  would  be  glad  had  he  given  it,  for  my 
information  has  been  ditferent,  and  if  that  was  wrong  I 
would  like  to  have  it  corrected.  According  to  ray  infor- 
mation, the  battle  was  not  at  Lindley's  mill,  but  at  old  Jack 
Alston's,  a  little  above,  when  the  Tories  arrived  at  Lind- 
ley's mill  on  their  retreat,  a  few  of  the  whigs  had  rallied 
there  and  a  small  skirmish  ensued;  but  it  was  only  a  little 
brush  on  their  rear  or  their  flanks.     Now  if  General  But- 


58  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

ler  had  a  superior  torce  in  the  engagement  on  Cane  creek 
why  did  he  not  gain  the  victory.  He  had  the  advantage 
of  the  ground,  and  he  was  not,  like  the  others  encumber- 
ed wi^h  prisoners  or  any  thing  else.  To  suppose  then 
that  having  these  advantages,  a  superiority  of  numbers,  a 
more  eligible  position  and  freedom  from  any  encumbrance 
w^hile  his  enemies  were  inferior  in  number,  occupied  an 
unfavorable  position  and  had  a  large  number  of  prisoners- 
to  guard,  after  all  he  let  them  get  away  with  their  prison- 
ers; would  be  disreputable  to  General  Butler  and  to  the 
men.  who  fought  so  bravely  on  that  occasion,  or  if  by 
some  untoward  occurrence,  they  did  elude  his  grasp  in 
the  iirst  engagement,  as  he  was  superior  in  numbers  and 
unencumbered,  why  did  he  not  pursue  them  and  intercept 
them  at  some  point  below — Perhaps  my  information  has 
been  wrong,  but  according  to  the  most  reliable  accounts 
which  I  have  always  had  from  both  sides,  the  Tories  o  it- 
numbered  the  Whigs  at  least  two  to  one,  and  I  recollect  no 
conflict  of  the  kind  during  the  war  in  which  there  was 
more  real  bravery  displayed  or  which  reflected  more  cred- 
it upon  the  Whigs  than  the  one  on  Cane  creek,  except, 
perhaps,  the  one  at  Ransour's  mill,  and  if  the  Tories  on 
that  occasion  had  been  commanded  by  such  a  Tartar  as 
Colonel  Fanning,  or  if  he  had  been  there  at  the  head  of 
his  Saracen  corps  wi  h  his  daring  courage,  his  rapidity  of 
motion  and  his  quick  perception  of  whatever  advantage 
might  be  taken,  the  result  would  probably  have  been  very 
different.  I  have  been  thus  particular  in  my  account  of 
the  battle  on  Cane  creek,  one  ol  the  most  important 
events  in  Fanning's  career  and  one  of  the  most  calam- 
itous to  the  country, — with  the  hope  that  some  one  who 
is  competent  to  the  task  will  take  it  up  and  give  it  a  more 
thorough  investigation. 

It  has  been  stated  that  when  old  Col.  Hector  fell  in 
the  battle,  some  of  the  officers  denied  that  he  was  dead, 
probably  making  the  men  believe  that  he  was  only  woun- 
ded; and,  for  the  time  being,  they  put  McDougal  in  his 
place.  After  leaving  Cane  creek,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
delusion,  they  appointed  to  the  command  another  of  the 
same  name,  Hector  McNeill,  son  of  Archibald  and  Jen- 
net (Ban).  Having  afterwards  lost  an  eye,  he  was  known 
in  subsequent  life,  by  the  name  of  '*one  eyed  Hector,"  but 
at  this  time,  as  he  had  not  yet  lost  his  eye,  he  appearg 
to  have  filled  the  place  quite  respectably.     From  Cane 


COL,   DAVID   FANNING.  59 

creek,  they  went  directly  to  their  head-quarters  on  the 
Rdfc  Swamp,  and  after  crossing  Deep  river  they  stayed 
all  night  at  the  house  of  Mr.  McRae,  father  of  the  pres- 
ent Collin  McKae,  Esq.,  who  gives  the  following  account 
ot  thei*'  visit:  "My  father  lived  on  Deep  river.  My  Moth- 
er's maiden  name  was  Burke.  When  the  Grovernor  of 
that  name  was  taken  prisoner  at  Hillsboro,',  by  Fanning 
and  his  company,  they  stopped  at  our  house  all  night  on 
their  way  to  Wilmington.  The  Governor  was  put  into  an 
additional  apartment,  at  the  end  of  the  house  and  there 
closely  quartered.  Our  bag  of  meal  was  seized  and  cook- 
ed immediately;  and,  having  been  previously  robbed,  my 
mother  had  no  bed  clothes,  except  one  cotton  sheet,  which 
was  carefully  wrapped  around  my  infant  brother,  John, 
by  his  mother's  side.  One  of  the  company  seized  hold  of 
one  corner  of  this  sheet  and  continued  to  jerk  and  shake 
it  until  the  infant  rolled  out  on  the  floor.  By  way  ot  re- 
taliation, my  mother  made  some  attempts  before  day  to 
let  her  namesake,  the  Governor  escape,  but  without  suc- 
cess." 

The  Governor  appears  to  have  been  treated  with  m 
much  courtesy,  and  to  have  had  his  situation  made  as 
comfortable  on  the  road  as  could  be  expected.  After  leav- 
ing  Gane  creek  a  few  miles,  and  finding  that  the  Whigs 
were  not  pursuing  them,  Capt  John  McLean,  who  had 
the  prisoners  in  charge,  dismounted  and  asked  the  Gov- 
ernor to  ride  his  horse.  He  replied,  *'I  am  your  prisoner, 
sir,  and  must  expect  to  fare  as  a  prisoner"  but  McLean 
insisted,  and  the  Governor  mounted  his  horse.  The  Cap- 
tain then  took  it  on  foot  but  soon  obtained  another  horse. 
Capt.  Neill  McFall,  or,  according  to  the  Scotch  orthogra- 
phy, McPhaul,  lived  on  the  Raft  Swamp,  and  kept  a  mill. 
His  house  was  head-quarters  for  the  Tories  all  over  that 
region  and  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  before  and  after 
every  expedition  in  which  the  different  corps  united.  When 
they  arrived  at  McFall's  with  the  Governor,  the  prisoners 
were  all  given  in  charge  to  Colonel  Ray,  and  a  detach- 
ment of  men  sufficient  for  the  purpose  was  assigned  him. 
He  conducted  them  to  Wilmington  and  delivered  them  to 
Major  Craig;  but  most  of  the  men  remained  at  McFall's. 
In  a  few  days  before  Colonel  Ray  had  returned  with  his 
detachment,  and  after  Fanning,  with  his  corps,  had  left, 
they  mustered  three  hundred  strong  and  were  drilled  by 
Colonels  McDougal  and  McJS'eill,  on  the  plantation  now 


60  EEVOLITIONARY   INCIDENTS.  " 

owned  or  occupied  by  Mrs.  Bethca  near  Floral  College. 
This  is  another  collateral  proof  tliat  the  force  with  which 
thev  encountered  the  whigs  on  Cane  creek,  has  not  been 
overrated  on  a  former  [-age;  and  that  the  conflict,  which 
these  patriotic  men  had  to  maintain  on  that  rnomentus 
occasion,  was  something  more  than  mere  play. 

Word  had  been  to  Major  Craig,  probably  by  express, 
that  they  had  succeeded  in  capturing  the  Governor,  with 
a  number  of  other  prominent  AVhigs,  and  that  they 
would  be  thereby  such  a  time.  A  troop  of  cavalry  was 
sent  out  to  meet  them  and  escort  them  back  to  town.  A 
few  miles  below  Elizabethtown,  about  Hammond's  creek, 
they  were  met  by  this  troop,  and  as  they  were  approach- 
ing, Governor  Burke  said  to  the  oflicers  and  men  around 
him,  ''Kow,  gentlemen,  I  am  Your  prisoner.  Hereto- 
fere  I  had  hopes  of  being  released,  and,  therefore,  I  did 
not  feel  like  a  prisoner;  but  now  I  feel  that  I  am  indeed 
your  prisoner."  He  had  hitherto  entertained  the  hope 
that  General  Butler  would  overtake  them,  and  be  able  to 
eftect  his  rescue ;  but  was  sadly  disappointed.  General 
Batler  did  pursue  them,  and  probably  with  an  augment- 
ed force,  tor,  as  the  Tories  out  numbered  him  on  Cane 
creek,  it  was  very  natural  that,  when  about  to  pursue 
them,  he  should  increase  his  strength  by  hasty  drafts,  or 
by  volunteer  companies  ;  and  a  few  years  ago,  the  v/riter 
became  acquainted  with  one  or. two  and  respectable  men, 
in  Caswell  county,  who  were  with  Butler  on  this  expedi- 
tion, but  had  not  been  at  the  battle.  It  is  not  at  all  un- 
likely, therefore,  that  at  this  time  he  did  have  a  force  su- 
perior to  that  of  the  Tories  ;  but  he  did  not  overtake  them 
and  never  had  a  regular  engagement  with  them.  Accor- 
ding to  the  traditionary  accounts  in  that  region;  be  was 
taken  by  surprise  one  nigi.t  and  made  a  hasty  retreat. 
Colonel  Eay,  after  remaining  two  or  three  days  in  Wil- 
mington to  rest  and  refresh  his  men,  was  on  the  return 
home  with  his  detachment  when  he  came  upon  Butler's 
camp,  on  Hammond's  creek,  while  they  were  all  asleep, 
and  fired  upon  them.  A  few  were  killed,  probably  the 
sentinels,  and  some  others  were  wounded.  Such  an  at- 
tack, made  with  spirit  and  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night, 
took  them  by  such  a  surprise  that  they  sought  safety  in 
the  best  way  they  could.  A  few  evenings  after,  he  had 
a  skirmish  with  another  body  of  Tories,  and  some  British 
troops.     This  was  quite  a  spirited  afiair  for  a   short  time 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  «   61 

but  was  poon  over.  General  Butler  ordered  a  retreat  af- 
ter the  iirst  tire,  under  a  nii.^takcn  apprehension  that  the 
enemy  had  artillery,  of  which  he  was  destitute;  but  Col. 
Kobert  Mebane,  who  belonged  to  his  command,  rallied 
as  many  men  as  he  could  and  continued  the  coniiict.  Col- 
onel Thomas  Owen,  father  of  General  Owen,  and  of  the 
late  Governor  Owen,  was  there,  and,  as  General  Owen  in- 
formed me,  took  the  chief  command.  The  two  colonels 
made  quite  a  manly  resistance  for  a  while,  but  were  over- 
powered and  compelled  to  yield  the  ground.  The  whole 
aifair  was  one  of  small  importance,  and  the  circumstances 
are  not  well  known.  Whether  it  was  owing  to  the  want 
of  good  generalship  or  to  some  untoward  occurrences,  we 
do  not  know;  but  the  Governor  was  not  rescued,  and  the 
expedition  was  not  signalized  by  any  important  achieve- 
ment. 

With  his  laurels  all  fresh  upon  him  and  greatly  increas- 
ed by  his  recent  exploit,  as  soon  as  his  prisoners  were  safe- 
ly delivered,  or  carried  beyond  the  reach  of  their  pursuers, 
Fanning  returned  to  his  old  range,  and  pursued  the  same 
course  of  rapine,  murder  and  devastation.  During  the 
last  three  months,  his  movements  had  been  rapid;  his 
plans  bold  and  daring;  and  in  every  conflict  he  had  come 
off  victorious.  Few  men,  with  the  same  amount  of  lorce, 
have  ever  accomplished  more  in  the  same  length  of  time; 
but  after  the  British  were  driven  trom  Xorth  and  South 
Carolina,  and  after  the  army  under  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
surrendered  to  General  Washington,  at  Yorktown,  the 
prospects  of  the  loyalists  here,  as  well  as  everywhere  else, 
became  more  and  more  gloom}^  and  their  operations,  it 
not  less  atrocious,  were  neither  so  bold  nor  so  extensive. 
Fanning,  however,  had  a  considerable  number  who  fol- 
lowed his  fortunes  and  adhered  to  him  with  great  fidelity 
to  the  last.  With  these,  he  was  a  terror  to  the  whole 
country;  for  as  his  fortunes  waned  and  his  prospects  dar- 
kened, he  became  more  vindictive  and  more  ot  the  cut- 
throat assassin.  Generally  he  kept  his  head-quarters  on 
the  south  side  of  Deep  river,  and  about  Cross-hill,  where 
he  was  in  such  a  Tory  region  that  he  felt  secure  from  any 
sudden  attack  of  his  enemies;  but  sometimes  he  had  his 
camp  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  when  he  and  his 
men  were  not  out  on  some  expedition,  they  employed 
their  time  in  horse-racing,  gambling,  and  such  sports  as 
were  most  congenial  to  their    dispositions.      The     place 


62  0  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

here  he  had  his  camp  for  sometime,  on  the  west  side  of 


s 


latham  county,  and  not  tar  from  the  present  residence  ot 
[Doctor  Chalmers,  is  still  known  by  the  name  of'' Fannin  g\s 
race  paths;"  but  we  presume  that  no  gentleman,  with 
even  a  moderate  share  of  honorable  feeling,  however 
much  he  might  delight  in  the  amusement  of  the  turf, 
would  not  think  ot  using  them  for  that  purpose!  .From 
the  last  of  September,  1781,  until  some  time  in  the  summer 
of  1782,  a  great  many  murders  and  atrocities  were  com- 
mitted by  Fanning,  or  by  his  orders,  along  Deep  river 
and  for  some  miles  on  the  north  side,  the  date«^  and 
minute  circumstances  of  which  cannot  be  now  ascertained. 
Many  have  been  forgotten,  or  rather  have  not  been 
sought  for  by  any  one  who  was  competent  and  had  leis- 
ure or  opportunity  to  write  them  oft,  and  throw  them  into 
the  common  stock  of  public  information;  for  they  still 
exist  in  the  traditions  of  the  country;  and  enough  might 
be  obtained  to  make  a  moderate  sized  volume  of  pleasant 
reading,  at  least  for  the  young  people  of  the  country,  at 
their  fire-sides  in  the  long  winter  evenings.  We  shall 
therefore  relate  a  few  of  these,  and  give  the  best  account 
of  them  we  can,  but  without  dates  or  chronological  order, 
except  in  on«  or  two  instances,  of  deep  and  abiding  in- 
terest, in  which  we  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
the  date  from  letters  written  at  the  time,  or  shortly  after, 
by  persons  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  what  they  related,  or 
had  authentic  and  certain  information. 


MISCELLANEOUS  DEEDS  OF  ATROCITY. 

In  the  fall  of  1781,  and  while  Fanning  still  had  a  res- 
pectable number  of  followers.  Captain  John  Coxe,  who 
was  a  firm  Whig,  and  who  lived,  if  I  mistake  not,  in  the 
North  side  of  Cumberland  county,  not  far  from  the  river, 
went  up  into  Chatham  with  a  small  company  of  men,  and 
took  up  camp  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Needham.  Fanning  having  been  informed  of 
this  movement  by  some  of  his  friends,  went  in  pursuit 
with  his  whole  corps  and  arrived  there  before  midnight. 
Having  tied  their  horses  in  a  thicket,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  house,  they  rushed  up  and  fired  on  Coxe  and  his 
party  before  they  were  properly  aware  of  their  danger,  or 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  .  68 

could  make  any  preparation  for  defence.  As  none  of  them 
were  killed,  however,  they  all  broke  and  run  without  their 
horses,  or  any  thing  else  except  their  guns,  which,  in  those 
times,  every  man  who  had  taken  up  arras  at  all  in 
defense  of  his  country,  always  kept  in  his  hand  when 
awake,  or  by  his  side  when  asleep;  but  fortunate!}^  a  part 
of  them,  in  taking  their  course  from  the  camp  at  random, 
happened  to  run  by  the  place  where  Fanning  and  his  par- 
ty had  tied  their  horses;  and  with  great  alacrity  and 
promptness,  they  all  helped  themselves  to  horses,  each 
one  taking,  without  leave  or  license,  the  first  horse  he 
could  get,  as,  they  say  members  of  Congress  now  take 
hats  when  leaving  a  President's  levee ;  and  they  all  made 
tracks  a  little  faster  than  they  could  have  done  on  their 
own  stumps. 

On  the  second  day  after  this  occurrence.  Fanning  ajid  his 
whole  troop  went  down  to  John  Coxe's  house  and  encamp- 
ed there  tor  the  night.  ISText  morning  they  plundered  it 
and  burned  it  to  the  ground,  and  destroyed  every  thing 
else  on  the  premises  that  was  destructable.  John  Coxe  of 
course,  kept  out  of  the  way  himself  but  sent  a  messenger 
privately  to  his  father,  informing  him  of  all  that  had  hap- 
pened. From  this  scene  of  desolation.  Fanning  with  the 
whole  of  his  banditti,  went  to  the  house  of  the  old  man 
Coxe,  for  a  similar  purpose ;  ajid  when  they  arrived  on 
the  premises  John  Coxe,  William  Jackson  and  Robert 
Loe  were  at  the  house;  but  they  heard  the  sound  of  the 
horses'  feet,  or  got  some  intimation  of  their  coming  in 
time  to  make  their  escape,  and  they  were  fortunate  enough 
to  get  away  with  so  much  adroitness,  or  in  such  good  time, 
that  neither  Fanning  nor  any  of  his  men,  with  all  their  vigi- 
lance and  sagacity,  had  any  suspicion  of  their  having  been 
there.  Thus  left,  they  had  free  scope  for  their  rapacious 
and  burnino:  propensities,  without  let  or  hinderance ;  and 
they  w^ere  not  slow  to  improve  their  time. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged,  John  Coxe  and  his  com- 
rades, who  were  still  lingering  within  a  short  distance, 
as  if  unwilling  to  abandon  every  thing  to  their  enemies  or 
perhaps  wishing  to  witness  what  was  done,  so  that  if  the 
time  of  retribution  should  ever  come,  they  might  know 
what  to  do,  agreed  that  they  would  go  back  as  near  as  they 
could  for  salety,  and  while  they  kept  themselves  out  of 
harm's  way,  might  be  able  to  see  what  was  doing;  hut  their 
curiosity,  or  an  over  confidence  in  their  own  activity,  led 


64  REVOLUTIONARY  IJfCIDENTS. 

them  a  little  too  far.  Men  who  were  engaged  in  a  work  so 
atrocious  and  had  made  themselves  so  odious  to  the  com- 
munity, were  obliged  to  be  always  on  the  lookout,  and  al- 
ways prepared  for  any  emergency.  While  the  mo?t  of 
them  were  engaged  in  burning  and  plundering,  a  few  were 
off  at  a  little  distance,  as  sentiiiels,  looking  and  Hstening  in 
every  direction;  and  either  hearing  a  noise,  or  getting  a 
glimpse  ot  these  men,  they  gave  Fanning  notice.  J  nstantly 
he  and  a  few  others  mounted  their  horses,  dashed  oit  in 
pursuit,  and  soon  overtook  them.  When  they  came  in 
sight,  the  three  men  tied  in  as  many  different  directions;  and 
Fanning  with  one  ot  his  men,  pursued  Jackson,  who  ran 
towards  the  Juniper.  The  other  man  shot  tirst  and  wounded 
him  in  the  back.  Fanning  then  fired  and  broke  his  arm  ; 
but  the  ball  passing  throngh  the  arm,  entered  his  body  and 
befell  dead.  Kobert  Loe  took  a  pathway  up  the  ridge; 
but  St(?phen  Walker,  one  of  the  most  cruel  and  blood-thirsty 
men  in  Fanning's  whole  corps,  pursued  him  and,  having 
overtaken  him  about  a  mile  from  old  Coxe's  house  brought 
him  back.  Fanning  ordered  him  to  be  shot,  but  as  he 
w^as  not  killed  by  the  first  fire,  he  pulled  out  his  own  pistol 
and  shot  him  dead.  One  ot  the  men  followed  John  Coxe, 
w^ho  aimed  for  the  low  grounds  of  iVlcLinden's  creek  ;  but 
when  his  pursuer  had  got  near  enough  to  shoot  and  was 
just  in  the  act  of  shooting,  his  horse  stumbled  and  fell  to 
the  ground.  By  the  time  the  horse  had  recovered  suffi- 
ciently to  continue  the  pursuit,  Coxe  was  out  of  sight;  and 
by  this  fortunate  occurrence  his  life  was  saved,  Robert 
Loe  had  been  one  of  Fanning's  corps;  but  for  some  reason 
or  other,  not  known  to  the  writer,  he  had  left  him  and  join- 
ed the  Whigs.  Knowing  Irom  the  character  of  Fanning, 
what  would  be  the  consequence  if  he  w^as  ever  taken,  he 
ought  to  have  been  more  guarded  and  not  to  have  put  him- 
self under  the  very  paw  of  the  lion,  but  he  showed  no  more 
rashness  than  was  then  common  in  the  country;  for  such 
is  the  effect  of  familiarity  with  danger  that  people  become 
reckless;  and  his  fate  was  not  very  different  from  that  of 
many  others. 

According  to  the  traditions  of  the  country,  this  Stephen 
Walker  was  a  man  of  most  unenviable  notoriety,  a  perfect 
ruffian,  a  cold  blooded  murderer,  who  had  no  feelings  of 
humanity,  no  sense  of  honor  and  no  respect  for  moral 
worth.  Many  years  ago,  I  was  told  by  an  old  man  in 
Randolph,  that,  making  an  excursion  one    night   for   the 


COL.   DAVID   FANNING.  65 

purpose,  he  shot  a  Baptist  preacher  dead  in  his  own  house 
in  the  presence  of  his  family  and  when  begging  for  his 
life,  without  any  sort  of  provocation  or  pretext,  except 
that  the  preacher  was  a  Whig  and  had  used  his  influence, 
which  was  considerable,  in  favor  of  independence.  This 
is  only  a  specimen  of  his  atrocities ;  and  no  wonder  that 
his  name  was  a  terror  wherever  it  was  known. 


CAPTURE    OF   JAMES    HARDING. 

^  If  a  man's  character  is  tested  by  the  presence  of  danger, 
his  wisdom  is  evinced  by  avoiding  the  stratagems  and 
counteracting  the  plans  of  his  enemies.  Both  are  neces- 
sary in  w^ar  and  especially  in  such  a  civil  war  as  raged  for 
some  lime  in  this  country,  when  a  man's  foes  were  often 
his  nearest  neighbors  and  sometimes  even  those  of  his 
own  house;  nor  is  it  easy  to  say  which  is  the  most  impor- 
tant or  the  most  worthy  of  admiration.  Sometimes,  the 
one  is  especially  called  for  and  sometimes  the  other;  but  we 
teel  the  highest  gratification,  and  are  most  hearty  in  our 
commendation,  when  we  find  them  both  combined  in  the 
same  man.  We  had  then  many  such  in  our  country,  of 
every  rank,  from  the  commander-in-chief  down  to  the 
humblest  citizen;  and  as  every  one  ought  to  have  the 
credit  which  he  deserves,  when  we  find  such  a  man,  how- 
ever humble  his  station,  we  take  a  pleasure  in  giving  his 
name  to  "the  historic  muse."  Nine  or  ten  years  ago  an 
old  gentleman  who  had  spent  all  his  life  in  the  neighbor- 
hood where  the  occurrence  took,  place,  and  who  had  some 
recollection  of  those  times,  gave  me  in  substance,  the  fol- 
lowing account.  There  lived  at  this  time,  on  the  south 
side  of  Deep  river  and  near  the  mouth  of  Bear  creek,  a 
man  by  the  name  of  James  Harding,  who  was  a  Whig 
and  a  man  of  a  fearless  spirit,  bold  in  his  address,  frank 
in  his  manners  and  very  prompt  to  use  his  tongue  or  his 
hand  as  occasion  required.  Of  course,  he  was^  the  more 
obnoxious  to  Fanning,  who  had  sworn  that,  if  he  ever  got 
him  in  his  power,  he  would  take  his  life;  and,  being 
aware  of  this,  he  was  usually  on  his  guard;  but  it  so  hap- 
pened one  day  that  a  scouting  party,  when  ranging  through 
the^  neighborhoor],  unexpectedly  came  upon  him  ;  and 
taking  him  prisoner,  carried  him  to  head-quarters.  He 
showed  no  apprehension  of  consequences  and  no  unwill- 


66  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

ingness  to  go  with  them;  but  his  captors  were  rather  sur- 
prised to  tind  him  as  sociable  and  pleasant  as  they  could 
wish.  They  expected  nothing  else,  and  they  thought 
that  he  could  expect  nothing  else,  than  that  he  would  be 
put  to  death  as  soon  as  they  got  to  camp,  yet  he  was 
serene  and  cheerful. 

On  entering  the  encampment,  Fanning  was  much  grat- 
iiied  with  their  success  and  with  the  thought  that  he  now 
had  it  in  his  power  to  exterminate  one  whom  he  regarded 
as  a  hateful  if  not  a  formidable  enemy.  Harding,  how- 
ever, did  not  give  him  time  to  do  any  thing  nor  even  to 
say  what  he  intended  to  do;  for  he  knew  all  that  before- 
hand; but,  walking  up  to  him,  with  an  air  of  perfect 
nonchalance,  took  him  by  the  hand  with  much  apparent 
cordiality  and  told  him  how  glad  he  was  of  having  an 
opportunity  of  joining  his  standard.  He  told  Fanning 
that  it  had  been  his  wish  for  some  time  to  leave  the 
Whigs  and  come  over  to  him;  but  that  no  opportunity 
had  occurred  before  of  doing  it  with  safety.  Now  he  had 
got  there  and  he  hoped  he  vrould  not  be  a  drone  in  the 
camp.  Fanning  looked  him  full  in  the  face  all  the  time; 
but  notwithstanding  his  sagacity  and  his  skill  in  reading 
the  countenances  of  people,  he  could  detect  no  insincerity, 
either  in  the  tone-  of  his  voice  or  the  expression  of  the 
eye.  So  w^ell  did  Harding  act  his  part,  and  so  complete 
was  the  deception  which  he  practised,  that  Fanning  gave 
him  a  friendly  reception  and  a  cordial  w^elcome.  From 
the  first,  he  made  as  free  with  the  men  in  camp  as  if  they 
had  been  bosom  friends  and  boon  companions  all  their 
life.  He  joked  with  them,  eat  and  slept  with  them,  and 
in  every  respect,  they  were  all  Jack  fellow  alike. 

By  a  similar  course  of  familiarity  and  apparent  frank- 
ness, he  effectually  conciliated  Fanning,  w^ho  laid  aside 
every  thing  like  mistrust  or  reserve,  and  made  him  a 
kind  ot  confident.  In  fact,  from  his  known  character  for 
boldness  and  enterprise,  they  all  felt  rather  proud  of  the 
fancied  acquisition  which  the}^  had  made;  nothing  was  con- 
cealed; aiul  no  suspicions  were  harbored.  If  his  feelings 
were  harassed  by  the  recitals  of  their  murders  and  house- 
burnings  among  the  Whigs,  he  kept  it  to  himself;  and  all 
seemed  to  be  perfectly  smooth  and  right.  Of  the  morals 
and  religious  character  of  Harding  we  know  nothing;  but 
whatever  they  were,  he  no  doubt  felt  that  he  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  who  had  little  claim  on  him  or  any   body 


COL.   DAVID   FANNING.  67 

else  tor  trnth  and  fairness.  He  knew  well  that  with  such 
a  man  as  Fanning  when  the  object  of  his  sworn  vengeance 
was  before  him,  an  open,  manly  course  would  be  certain 
death ;  and  he  probably  thought  that  if  he  could  foil  him 
with  his  own  weapons,  and  by  any  stratagem  effect  his 
destruction,  or  impair  his  strength,  he  would  be  dimin- 
ishing the  sufferings  of  his  country  and  doing  so  much  to 
aid  the  triumph  of  freedom. 

Accordingly,  when  he  found  that  he  had  Fanning's  con- 
fidence, he  remarked  to  him,  as  they  were  speaking  of 
some  meditated  excursion,  that  he  could  put  him  on  a 
plan  by  which  he  might  capture  a  company  of  Whi^s  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  at  the  same  time  mentioning 
what  company  it  was,  or  who  was  the  captain  ;  but  he 
said  it  would  be  necessary  that  he  should  go  over  first 
and  make  the  arrangements,  by  getting  their  consent  to 
meet  him  on  a  given  night  and  at  a  particular  ford  on  the 
river,  which  was,  of  course,  well  known  to  Fanning ;  when 
he  had  made  the  arrangements  he  was  to  return  to  camp 
and  conduct  them  to  the  place.  Fanning,  pleased  with 
the  proposal,  give  it  his  sanction;  and,  not  suspecting  any 
trick  or  unfair  play,  mounted  Harding  and  sent  him  off 
with  his  usual  benediction.  When  he  met  with  his  Whig 
friends,  he  made  an  arrangement  with  them  very  different 
from  that  which  his  Tory  friends  expected.  They  were 
to  lie  in  ambush  on  the  next  night  and  near  a  specified 
ford  on  the  river.  A  signal  was  agreed  upon,  which  was 
so  simple  as  not  Jo  excite  the  suspicion  of  Fanning  or  his 
men  until  Harding  could  get  out  of  their  reach;  and,  on 
giving  the  vsignal,  they  were  to  rush  upon  their  enemies. 
The  ford,  being  only  a  neighborhood  ford,  was  a  little 
rocky  and  difiicult  to  cross.  The  banks  were  steep,  espec- 
ially the  one  on  the  north  side;  and  the  way  was  so  narrow 
that  not  more  than  two  could  ride  abreast.  Having  made 
his  arrangements,  he  returned  to  head  quarters  and  found 
ail  right. 

His  account  of  matters  was  satifactory,  and  at  the  proper 
time  they  all  set  off.  Fanning  and  Harding  in  front  and 
all  in  good  spirits.  They  arrived  at  the  river  about  the 
appointed  time  and  took  the  ford.  Some  had  crossed 
and  were  on  level  ground;  some  were  plodding  their  way 
among  the  rocks;  and  some  were  ascending  the  bank. 
Harding  then  gave  the  signal  and  was  answered  by  his 
friends  to  let  him  know   that  they  were   there.   At  the 


68  BEVOLUTIOXARY   INCIDENTS, 

same  instant  he  dashed  toward  them  and  fell  into  their 
ranks,  when  they  all  rushed  lorward  and  poured  a  heavy 
lire  on  their  deluded  enemies.  All  was  confusion,  and  for 
a  moment  the  utmost  consternation  prevailed.  Such  a 
scene  as  followed  can  be  better  conceived  than  described; 
and  I  shall  leave  it  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 
Suffice  it  to  saj  that  several  were  killed  and  a  number 
wounded. 

Among  the  slain  or  mortally  wounded,  was  Stephen 
Walker,  a  man  who  was  abhorred  by  every  body  except 
Fanning  and  his  party:  and  at  whose  death,  at  least  all 
the  Whig  community  rejoiced.  Fanning  himself  had 
the  good  fortune  to  escape,  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
corps;  but  he  had  never  been  so  outwitted  and  discomfit- 
ted  before.  He  never  had  been  so  mistaken  in  his  man, 
nor  so  completely  duped;  and  he  never  had  met  with  any 
thing  in  all  the  battles  and  rencontres  in  which  he  had 
been  engaged,  at  least  since  he  had  been  a  British  Colonel, 
that  so  mortilied  his  pride,  or  that  so  muchimparied  his 
military  strength  and  his  martial  prowess.  The  precise 
number  of  killed  and  wounded  I  did  not  learn;  but  I  un- 
derstood that  the  Whigs  lost  none.  Fanning  and  his 
party,  I  think,  did  not  pretend  to  fi|:ht;  for  they  were 
overpowered  by  numbers  and  were  taken  at  such  a  disad- 
vantage, where  there  was  no  chance  lor  them  all  to  get 
together,  and  on  ground  where  they  could  not  possibly 
form  into  any  order,  lor  either  an  aggressive  or  a  defensive 
effort,  all  they  could  do  was  to  seek  safety  by  flight,  and 
find  concealment  in  the  surrounding  darkness. 

In  reading  anything  of  the  narrative  kind,  it  adds  much 
to  the  gratification  when  we  can  trace  the  order  of  events 
and  see  the  connection  of  one  with  another,  but  in  this 
and  many  other  cases  that  cannot  be  done.  Such  have 
been  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  this  country,  that  inci- 
dents of  the  most  interesting  kind  were  lelt  unrecorded 
until  the  dates  and  all  the  peculiar  circumstances  are  for- 
gotten. My  informant  believed  that  the  above  trans- 
action took  place  late  in  the  fall  of  1781;  but  his  recollect- 
ion was  not  so  distinct  that  he  could  be  certain.  It  has 
been  suggested  to  me  that  Harding  made  the  arrange- 
ment with  Colonal  Gholson;  and  that  the  Colonel  killed 
Walker  with  his  ow^i  hand;  but  of  this  I  have  as  yet  had 
no  reliable  information.  The  main  facts  are  believed  to 
be  correct;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  so  much  interest  in   itselt 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  69 

we  hope,  that  as  Colonel  Gholson's  descendants  are  still 
living,  some  in  that  region  and  some  in  the  west,  the  cir- 
cumstances will  be  more  fully  brought  to  light,  and  the 
transaction  be  tairly  represented. 


EXCURSION    UP    DEEP   RIVER. 

The  reader  will  no  doubt  feel  surprised,  as  the  writer 
has  done,  to  find  that  Fanning  still  kept  the  Held  and 
pursued  his  course  of  devastation  with  unabated  zeal  for 
months  after  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged  had  be- 
come desperate.  After  the  British  had  left  this  state  and 
had  been  driven  out  of  South  Carolina;  after  the  British 
army  under  Cornwallis  had  surrendered  at  Yorktovvn,  he 
still  maintained  as  bold  a  front  as  ever,  and  fought  on 
with  an  unyielding  pertinacity.  It  seems  strange,  "  'tis 
passing  strange,"  that  in  view  of  all  these  circumstances 
and  when  he  had  probably  not  more  than  twenty  or  thir- 
ty men;  when  confidence  was  reviving  in  the  breasts  of 
the  patriots  and  when  the  paralysing  effects  of  discour- 
agement were  pervading  the  ranks  of  the  royalists,  the 
Whigs  did  not  rally  in  sufficient  numbers  to  cut  him  off 
or  capture  him  at  once,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  his  murders 
and  devastations;  but  whether  it  was  owing  to  the  terror 
of  his  name,  or  to  the  fact  that  they  could  not  overtake 
him,  none  of  the  companies,  so  far  as  I  have  heard,  that 
went  down  so  often  below  Deep  River  to  subdue  the  Scotch 
ever  encountered  Fanning.  This  was  not  all;  for  we  find 
him  at  this  time  writing  to  Gov.  Burke,  with  as  great  an 
air  of  independence  and  conscious  dignity  as  if  he  had 
been  Caesar  or  l^apoleon  Bonaparte,  and  charging  the  Gov- 
ernor with  murdering  three  of  his  men,  dictating  terms 
of  peace  and  threatening  to  retaliate  tenfold  if  reparation 
w^ere  not  made  and  a  stop  put  to  proceedings.  The  oc- 
casion of  this  singular  correspondence  may  be  learned 
from  the  following  communication  of  Judge  Williams  to 
Governor  Burke. 

Hillshoro,  27th  Jan.,  1782. 
Dear  Sir, 

:»t  *****  * 

During  this  term  seven  persons  have  been  capitally  con- 


70  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

victed,  to-wit.  Samuel  Poe,  for  burglary,  Thomas  Rick- 
ets, Meredith  Edwards,  Thomas  Eastridge,  and  Thomas 
Darke  for  high  treason;  Thomas  Duke  and  William  Hunt 
tor  horse  stealing.  And  as  I  suppose  some  application 
may  be  made  for  mercy,  I  have  thought  proper  to  repre- 
sent to  your  Excellency  the  true  point  of  view  in  which 
the  several  persons  condemned  stood  before  the  court. 

Thomas  Darke,  a  captain  ot  Fanning's  and  one  of  his 
right  hand  men,  is  the  principal  person  convicted.  He 
has  been  very  active  and  enterprising,  and  near  as  dange- 
rous a  person  as  Fanning  himself,  ynd  from  his  proved 
inhumanities  and  cruelties  in  cutting,  hacking  and  wound- 
ing his  prisoners,  had  acquired  among  those  ot  his  own 
party,  the  name  of  "young  Tarlton." 

Thomas  Rickets,  though  indicted  of  treason  only,  it  is 
hard  to  mention  a  crime  of  which  he  is  not  accused  and  I 
have  good  reason  to  believe  not  wronglully,  murder, 
housebreaking,  robbery  &c.,  &c.,  are  on  the  black  list  of 
his  crimes,  to  which  is  added  a  general  bad  character. 

Meredith  Edwards  and  Thomas  Eastridge  were  also  in- 
dicted tor  treason.  They  are  both  men  who  appeared  to 
be  equally  popular  among  the  Tories,  and  very  active,  and 
men  of  Fanning's  gang,  though  generally  kind  and  hu- 
mane to  prisoners  while  in  their  custody,  and  seemed 
much  to  lament  the  fate  of  their  particulr  neighbors,  whom 
they  had  taken  with  Governor  Burke,  and  to  express 
some  uneasiness  at  seeing  them  in  captivity.  As  to  the 
genera!  moral  character  of  these  men,  it  seemed  to  be  pret- 
tv  good,  only  great  Tories — Eastridge  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  times. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  sir, 
Your  very  obt'  hum.  servant, 
John  Williams. 

From  this  it  appears  that  several  of  Fanning's  men  had 
been  captured,  when,  where,  or  by  whom,  does  not  appear; 
but  after  trial  in  the  civil  court,  they  had  been  found  guilty 
of  the  crimes  laid  to  their  charge.  Summary  justice  was 
then  the  order  of  the  day,  and  three  olthem  had  been  ex- 
ecuted. This  provoked  the  wrath  of  Fanning,  and  gave 
rise  to  the  following  very  characteristic  letter  from  him 
to  Governor  Burke. 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.*  71 

Feb.  26ih,  1782. 

Sir: — T  understand  that  you  have  hung  three  of  my 
men,  one  Captain  and  two  privates,  and  likewise  have  a 
Capta.n  and  six  men  under  sentence  of  death. 

8ir,  ifthe  requisition  of  my  articles  do  not  arrive  to 
satisfaction,  and  the  effusion  of  blood  stops,  and  the  Uves 
of  those  men  saved,  that  I  \vill  retaliate  blood  for  blood, 
and  tenfold  for  one,  and  there  shall  never  an  officer  or 
private  of  the  rebel  party  escape  that  falls  into  my  hands 
hereafter,  but  what  shall  suiter  the  pain  and  punishment  of 
instant  death.  I  have  got  your  proclamation,  whereas 
it  specifies  this,  that  all  officers  or  leading  men,  persons  of 
this  class  guilty  of  murder,  robbery,  and  house  burning, 
to  be  precluded  from  any  benefits  of  your  proclamation, 
for  there  nev^er  was  a  man  who  has  been  in  arms  on  either 
side,  but  what  is  guilty  of  some  of  the  above  mentioned 
crimes,  especially  on  the  rebel  side,  and  them  that's  guil- 
ty is  to  suffer  instant  death,  if  taken.  If  my  request  agree- 
ably to  my  articles  ain't  granted,  and  arrive  by  the  eighth 
day  of  March  next,  I  shall  fall  upon  the  severest  and  most 
inhuman  terms  imaginable  to  answer  the  ends  for  those 
that  are  so  executed,  and  if  the  request  is  granted  imme- 
diately, send  a  field  officer  to  Deep  river,  to  Mr  Winsor 
Pearce,  and  there  he  may  remain  unmolested,  or  to  Colo- 
nel Phelon  Obstones,,  under  a  flag,  till  we  can  settle  the 
matter.  So  no  more,  but  1  am  in  behalf  of  his  majesty's 
troops, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

David  Fanning. 

Commander  of  the  Royal  Militia  of  Randolph  and 
Chatham. 

P.  8.  On  Friday,  the  7th.  of  January  last,  I  wrote  to 
Lawyer  Williams  the  terms  that  I  was  willing  to  surren- 
der under,  and  he  wrote  to  me  that  General  Butler  would 
not  comply  wdth  my  terms  till  he  had  the  approbation  of 
the  Governor.  On  Wednesday,  the  11th  iiist.,  the  flag 
was  to  meet  me  at  a  certain  house  with  the  letters,  and  as 
the  flag  was  coming  it  was  waylaid  by  Charles  GhoUon 
and  a  party  of  men,  from  which  it  appeared  to  me  that 
they  seemed  more  like  taking  my  life  by  treachery  than 
coming  upon  peaceable  terms;  but  as  the  gentleman  that 
hore  the  flag.  Balsom  Thompson,  acting  so  honorable  to 
his  trust,  the  moment  he  arrived  at  the  place,  he  let  me 
know  of  it,  and  declared  himself  innocent,  which  gave  me 


72  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

grounds  to  think  he  would  act  with  honor  still. 

On  the  15th  of  the  present,  Mr.  Williams,  Mr.  Clark, 
and  Mr.  Barns,  were  the  gentlemen  that  were  kind  enough 
to  wait  upon  me  with  a  l>lank  parole  and  letter,  that  my 
request  was  granted  by  the  Governor.  In  the  meantime, 
the  gentlemen  waiting  on  me  at  the  place  appointed,  there 
came  around  me  a  company  of  the  Haw  Fields,  command- 
ed by  Captain  Lerbe,  which  plainly  and  evidently  appeared 
to  me  that  there  was  but  treachery  meant.  On  b^unday, 
the  10th.  of  February,  I  fell  in  the  rear  of  Captain  Ghol- 
son  and  Captain  Hines,  and  following  their  trail,  came  on 
them  at  dusk,  and  atter  some  tiring  tiiat  night,  we  rode 
otf,  and  came  on  them  next  morning,  and  we  came  upon 
terms  of  peace,  till  I  could  write  to  their  superior,  tor 
which  I  have  counselled  with  some  of  my  officers,  and  we 
joined  hand  and  heart,  to  comply  with  the  terms  under- 
neath written. 

''We,  the  subscribers,  do  acknowledge  ourselves  sub- 
jects to  the  British  Government,  and  as  you  are  well  assur- 
ed of  our  fidelity  and  loyalty  to  his  majesty,  and  has  been 
daily  the  case  that  we  have  been  destroying  one  another's 
persons  aud  property  to  uphold  our  opinions,  and  we  are 
hereby  willing  to  come  to  a  cessation  of 'arms  for  three 
months,  on  the  conditio!)  undt-rwritten. 

Our  request  is,  trom  Cumberland,  twenty  miles  north, 
and  thirty  miles  east  and  west,  to  be  clear  of  any  of  your 
light  horse.  And  further,  that  every  man  that  has  been 
in  actual  arms,  in  a  permanent  order,  in  order  to  estab- 
lish a  Royal  Government  excepting  those  that  have  de- 
serted from  a  regular  troop,  who  have  voluntarily  enlis- 
ted themselves,  them  we  do  obligate  to  deliver  up,  and 
each  and  every  man  that  is  at  liberty,  shall  have  a  right  to 
withdraw^  in  the  said  district,  and  that  any  persons  living 
in  the  said  district  that  have  been  in  actual  arms  in  a  per- 
inanent  manner  to  establish  the  Royal  Government,  that 
we  should  at  any  request  by  writing  to  me  or  Major  Reins, 
have  them  apprehended  and  sent  to  any  of  the  American 
officers  at  or  near  the  line. 

That,  if  any  of  our  men  should  go  out  of  the  line  or  dis- 
trict, to  plunder  or  distress  or  murder  any  of  the  Ameri- 
can party,  that  we  will,  by  information  made  to  me  or  Ma- 
jor Reins,  or  any  of  the  Captains,  that  I  shall  return  their 
names.  If  their  request  is  granted,  that  they  shall  imme- 
diately be  apprehended  and  sent  to  you  or  the  next  offi- 


OOL,   DAVID   FANNIN*i.  73 

cer,  to  be  tried  bjyour  own  law:  and  if  any  of  your  party 
shall  be  caugbt  plunderinjr,  stealing  or  murdering,  or 
going  private  paths  with  arms,  signitying  as  it  they  were 
fur  mischief,  to  be  left  to  our  pleasure,  to  deal  with  as  we 
see  cause  agreeable  to  our  laws.  All  public  roads  to  be 
free,  by  any  army  or  company  keeping  the  public  roads, 
or  wagons. 

That  every  person  that  has  been  in  actual  arms  in  a 
permanent  manner  in  order  to  estabUsh  the  Royal  Gov- 
ernment, shall  not  be  interrupted  of  his  arms  or  provi- 
sions, and  any  person  that  has  not  been  in  arms  as  above 
mentioned.  If  you  should  want  provisions  or  any  other 
articles  from  them,  to  send  to  either  of  us,  and  we  will 
send  a  sufficient  guard  to  see  them  safe  in  and  out,  the 
Quakers  excepted,  and  that  we  will  not  in  the  mean' time 
distress  or  disturb  any  person  abiding  by  your  law  on  the 
said  district  in  their  j)ersons  or  property. 

All  back  phmder  shall  be  void,  as  it  is  impossible  to  re- 
place or  restore  all  the  plunder  on  either  side. 

Our  request  is  to  have  a  free  trade  to  any  part,  with 
wagons  or  horse  back,  with  a  pass  from  any  appointed 
officer  for  salt  or  iron,  or  any  other  necessary,  and  we  ex- 
i^ectthetwo  Coxe's  Mills  to  be  free  from  all  armies  be- 
longing  to  America. 

Any  man  that  has,  been  returned  a  Continental,  without 
taking  the  county,  that  has  been  in  actual  arms  as  above 
written,  shall  return  in  the  said  District 

If  the  request  is  granted  above  written,  I  should  request 
the  liberty  to  send  to  Charleston  to  let  them  know  what 
we  are  about,  and  any  request  you  should  ask  in  reason, 
I  will  petition  for,  and  perhaps^a  peace  might  be  made  for 
a  twelve  month,  or  more'  if  you  desire  it. 

It  the  request  can't  be  granted,  be  pleased  to  let  me 
know  as  quick  as  possible,  and  if  you  don't  like  to  comply 
with  our  terms,  send  me  an  answer  back  immediately,  that 
we  may  know  what  to  depend  on.  So,  no  more  at  present, 
but  we  remain  friends,  in  behalf  of  his  Majesty's  Troops. 
Sir,  we  remain  your  faithful    and  humble  servants, 

David  Fanning,  Colonel, 
John  Reins,  Major, 
William  Reins,  Captain, 
John  Eagle,  Captain, 
William  Price,  Captain, 
Jacob  Maner,  Ensign. 


74  HEVOLUTIONARY    INCIDENTS. 

We  wonki  not  blame  Fanning,  nor  any  other  man,  when 
honestly  holding  an  office  under  the  Royal  Government, 
for  standing  tirm  in  his  place,  and  performing  with  all  H- 
delity  the  duties  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  provided  he 
does  it  according  to  the  rules  of  civilized  and  Christian 
warfare  ;  but  we  would  blame  any  one,  Whig  or  Tory,  for 
violating  all  the  principles  of  honor  and  humanity,  and 
for  employing  all  his  energies  and  resources,  merely  to 
gratify  the  low  spirit  of  malice  and  revenge. 

Supposing  that  it  might  be  gratifying  to  many  of  my 
readers  to  see  something  of  the  judicial  proceedings,  and 
of  the  summary  manner  in  which  justice  was  administered 
during  those  troublous  times,  I  Lave  extracted  from  the 
records  of  the  circuit  court  in  Hillsboro'  the  account  of 
the  sentence  passed  upon  the  three  of  Fanning's  men, 
mentioned  above,  and  and  one  or  two  others. 

At  a  Court  of  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  Oyer  and  Terminer, 
(general  Gaol  delivery  begun  and  held  tor  the  district  of 
Hillsboro'  at  Hillsboro'  on  Thursday  the  Seventeenth  Day 
of  January,  Anno  Dom,  1782,  pursuant  to  a  commission 
issued  by  the  Governor  for  the  time  being;  bearing  date 
the  19th  day  of  December,  1781,  which  commission  for 
holding  said  Court  was  read,  &c. 

Present  the  Honorable  John  Williams,  Esquire. 


Saturday^  January  26th,  1782. 

**The  Court  met   according  to   adjournment,   Present 
the  Honorable  John  Williams,  Esquire. 

Samuel  Poe,  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  Burglary. 
Thomas  Rickets,  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  High  Treason. 
Meredith  Edwards,  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  High  Treason, 
Thomas  Estridge.  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  High  Treason. 
Thomas  Dark,  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  High  Treason. 

William  Duke,  and      i  i    i-  .  j       j  ^        •  ^  j     r  tj  e..     t 

Thomas  Hunt  \  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  Horse  Stealing. 

Being  brought  into  Court  and  to  the  Bar,  received  the  fol- 
lowing sentence.  That  you  the  said  Samuel  Poe,  Thomas 
Rickets,  Meredith  Edwards,  Thomas  Estridge,  Thomas 
Dark,  William  Duke  and  Thomas  Hunt,  and  each  of  you, 
be  taken  from  thence  to  the  place  whence  you  came,  and 
from  thence  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  there  be  hung 
by  the  neck  and  each  of  your  necks  until  you  are  dead. 


COL,   DAVID   FANNIKG.  75 

Ordered  that  the  Sherift'of  the  County  of  Orange,  or  for 
want  of  such  oliicer,  the  Coroner  of  the  said  county,  carry 
into  execution  the  above  sentence  of  the  Court,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner,  that  is  to  say,  the  sentence  against  Samuel 
Poe,  Thomas  Rickets  and  Thomas  Dark,  on  Friday  the 
first  day  of  February  next,  between  the  hours  ot  Eleven 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. 

And  the  sentence  of  Meredith  Edwards,  Thomas  Est- 
ridge, William  Duke  and  Thomas  Hunt,  be  carried  into 
execution  on  the  tirst  day  of  March  next,  between  the 
hours  of  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon. 

It  being  recommended  to  the  Court,  that  the  estate  of 
Thomas  Estridge,  (who  this  Term  was  con/iemned  for 
high  treason,)  consisting  of  the  tbllowing  articles,  to  wit: 
pork  of  hogs,  eight  cows  and  one  mare,  seized  and  in  pos- 
session of  C.jlonel  Benjamin  Seaweli,  of  Franklin  county; 
also  a  small  quantity  of  house  hold  furniture. 

Ordered  by  the  Court,  that  the  above  articles  be  assign- 
ed to  the  wife  of  the  said  Thomas  Estridge,  for  the  main- 
tenance ot  said  wife  and  famiiy;  and  that  a  copy  of  this 
order  be  transmitted  to  the  said  Colonel  Seaweli,  or  Com- 
missioner of  confiscated  property,  of  said  county  ot  Frank- 
lin. 

Ordered  that  the  following  articles  of  the  estate  of 
Thomas  Dark,  (who  this  term  was  condemned  for  high 
Treason,)  to  wit  four  head  cattle,  two  horses,  one  mare, 
and  some  household  furniture,  be  assigned  to  the  wife  ol 
the  said  Thomas  Dark,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  said 
wife  and  family. 

Ordered  that  ane  cow  and  bed  -jfthe  estate  ot  Thomas 
Rickets,  fwho  in  this  Court  was  condemned  for  high  Trea- 
son,) be  assigned  to  the  wife  of  the  said  Thomas  Kickets, 
for  the  support  of  said  wife  and  fatnily. 

(Teste)  A  Tatom, 

Clk.  Pro.  Tern, 

The  threat  in  the  above  communication,  which  is  cop- 
ied from  the  University  Magazine,  seems  to  have  been  ful- 
filled with  too  much  punctuality,  and  from  that  time  he 
appears  to  have  become  more  desperate  than  ever.  Among 
civilized  and  Christian  nations,  especially  for  the  last  two 
or  three  generations,  no  class  of  men  make  greater  preten- 


76  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

tions  to  those  feelings  of  humanity  and  those  gencrons  im- 
pulses which  prompt  them  to  spare  the  fallen  and  to  ]>ro- 
tect  the  feehle,  than  the  officers  of  an  army;  and  an  officer 
of  rank  and  character  could  not  bring  on  himself  a  greater 
reproach  than  by  wanton  cruelty  to  a  surrendered  toe,  to 
the  aged  and  inlirm,  or  to  women  and  children.  The  sexes, 
however  much  they  may  envy  and  malign,  hate  and  de- 
stroy their  own,  are  generally  chary  of  each  other,  and 
the  man  who,  can  deliberately  take  the  lite  ot  a  woman  is 
universally  regarded  as  a  maniac  or  a  monster.  Probably 
every  man  of  true  courage  and  manliness,  it  he  must  die  a 
violent  death,  would  prefer  to  be  killed  by  a  savage,  a 
lion,  or  a  tiger,  a  reptile,  an  insect,  or  any  thing  in  the 
w^orld  rather  than  by  a  woman;  for  before  such  an  act 
could  be  committed,  he  must  have  done  somthing  which 
w^as  beyond  all  human  endurance,  or  she  must  have  been 
by  some  blighting  influence,  so  divested  ot  all  the  kind 
and  noble  qualities  other  nature  as  to  have  no  longer  any 
moral  or  social  affinity  with  her  race.  All  men  ot  honor- 
able feelings  respect  a  virtuous  woman,  especially  if  she  is 
a  wife  or  a  mother;  and  she  must  have  a  fiendish  or  a 
swinish  nature  who  can  corrupt  the  pure  or  revel  with  the 
vile;  but  Fanning  had  no  such  refined  feelings  and  no 
such  sense  ot  honor.  Though  a  British  Colonel  and  in 
correspondence  with  British  officers  of  high  standing,  nei- 
ther promotion  in  the  service  of  the  King,  nor  converse 
with  men  of  better  principles,  could  revolutionize  his  mor- 
al nature  nor  bring  him  under  the  habitual  control  of 
more  generous  and  lofty  sentiments. 

During  this  period,  though  a  married  man,  he  succeed- 
ed in  seducing  the  wife  of  a  Whig,  in  the  absence  of  ler 
husband,  and,  after  keeping  her  for  a  short  time,  he  mur- 
dered her  in  cold  blood.  On  meeting  her  at  their  place 
of  assignation,  which  w^as  in  the  woods  aiid  not  very  far 
from  the  house,  he  pretended  to  be  jealous  of  her  and 
charged  her  with  the  want  of  fidelity.  She  denied  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  that  there  was  any  foundation  for 
the  charge,  and  declared  that  since  she  had  taken  up  with 
him  she  had  not  thought  of  any  other;  but  it  was  of  no 
avail.  He  had  accomplished  his  purpose  and  wanted  to  get 
clear  of  her.  He  pulled  out  his  pistol,  therefore,  and  shot 
her  dead  on  the  s|)Ot,  when  on  her  knees  and  begging  for 
her  life.  I  got  this  incidont  from  a  gentleman  of  rnuch 
intelligence  in  that  region,  who  has  felt  great  interest   in 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  77 

gathering  lip  the  incidents  ot  the  Revolutionary  war ;  and 
be  told  me  that,  horrid  as  it  was,  there  was  do  doubt  of 
the  tact. 

An  act  of  such  perfidy,  baseness  and  cruelty,  caused  a 
coldness  ever  after,  between  Fanning  and  his  brother  in- 
law, William  Kerr,  whose  sister  he  had  married;  and  al- 
though some  correspondence  was  kept  up  between  them 
occasionally,  while  they  both  lived,  it  was  neither  frequent 
nor  cordial.  Kerr  is  reported  to  have  been  a  man 
of  more  humanity  and  more  honorable  feelings  than  al- 
most an}^  other  in  the  corps;  and  he  resented  it,  not  only 
for  the  immorality  of  the  act,  and  on  his  sister's  account 
but  for  the  atrocit}^  of  tbe  deed.  He  soon  after  left  the 
service,  and  there  never  was  any  harmonious  or  friendly 
intercourse  between  them  afterwards.  It  is  said  that 
Fanning  made  other  attempts  ot  the  kind;  but  so  far  as 
any  reliable  accounts  are  known,  this  was  the  only  case 
in  which  he  succeeded.  When  we  think  of  those  times 
with  all  their  perils  and  sufferings  thus  spread  out  before 
us,  with  the  reports  of  their  atrocities  and  abominations 
still  ringing  in  our  ears,  with  the  light  of  Christianity  shi- 
ning around  us  in  so  much  purity  and  brightness,  and 
with  all  the  blessings  of  peace  and  tranquility,  freedom 
and  civilization,  flowing  in  upon  us  from  every  side,  and 
in  such  increasing  exuberance,  we  are  made  to  feel  that 
we  need  no  friendly  monitor  to  keep  us  in  mind  of  our 
obligations,  and  no  homily  to  make  us  pray  with  all  the 
fervor  of  which  we  are  capable,  that  such  times  may  nev- 
er return. 

The  two  following  incidents  are  copied  from  the  Uni- 
versity Magazine,  *' William  Lindley  was  one  of  Fan- 
ning's  favorite  friends  and  one  of  his  captains.  He  was 
a  respectable  man  and  beloved  by  his  neighbors,  and 
took  no  part  in  Fanning's  cruelties.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  the  Tories  began  to  think  that  the 
cause  of  Independence  would  eventually  triumph,  Lind- 
ley, with  many  other  of  the  Tories,  thought  it  prudent  to 
leave  the  part  of  the  country  where  they  were  known  and 
retire  to  distant  parts.  Lindley  crossed  the  Blue  Eidge 
and  determined  to  remain  on  Xew  river  until  the  fate  of 
the  war  was  determined.  During  his  command  under 
Fanning,  he  had  given  some  offence  to  William  White 
and  John  Magaharty,  two  of  the  Tories  belonging  to 
Fanning's  party.     They  pursued  Lindley  and  killed  him. 


78  REVOLUTIOXARY  INCIDENTS. 

Upon  their  return,  Fanning,  having  heard  ot  the  murder 
of  his  friend,  resolved  to  hang  them  as  soon  as  he  could 
apprehend  them.  In  a  little  time  White  and  Magaharty 
fell  into  his  hands,  and  he  hanged  them  together  on  the 
same  limb."  .^ 

"White's  wite  was  pregnant.  He  gave  her  a  particu- 
lar account  of  the  murder  of  Lindley,  describing  the 
wounds  on  his  head  and  the  loss  of  the  fingers  of  one  of 
his  hands,  which  were  cut  off  by  the  sword  in  his  attempt 
to  save  his  head  from  the  blow.  The  story  made  such  an 
impression  upon  White's  wife,  that  her  child,  when  born, 
exhibited  a  remarkable  appearance,  had  marks  on  its 
head,  and  the  fingers  of  one  hand  were  declared  by  the 
mother  to  be  precisely  such  as  White  iiad  described  to 
her  to  have  been  those  of  Lindley." 

For  the  following  letter  I  am  indebted  to  Gov.  Swain; 
and  give  it  to  the  reader  as  illustrative  of  the  state  of  things 
then  existing  in  the  country.  It  was  addressed  to  Gener- 
al Butler  by  Col.  O'Xeal,  a  man  who,  according  to  the  tes- 
timony of  his  neighbors,  loved  to  keep  up  appearances, 
hut  never  fought  in  one  battle,  nor  exposed  himself  to  the 
fire  of  an  enemy,  and  never  did  anything  in  the  cause  of 
Independence,  except  to  receive  pay  for  nominal  services 
and  take  advantage  of  his  office  as  Colonel  to  extort  upon 
the  people  of  his  district.  Such  men  are  to  be  found  eve- 
rywhere and  in  the  most  trying  times,  men  who  have 
neither  courage,  nor  patriotism,  nor  generosity,  and  who 
are  so  cowardly  or  so  avaricious  as  to  be  intent  on  their 
gains  even  when  their  countrymen  around  them  are  suff- 
ering and  struggling  for  freedom.  If  Colonel  O'Neal, 
with  the  men  who  were  under  his  command  and  whom  he 
could,  at  any  time,  summon  to  his  standard,  had  been  out 
bravely  opposing  that  notorious  freebooter.  Col.  Fanning 
he  would  have  done  better  service  to  his  country  than  by 
writing  such  a  puff  at  his  fireside;  but  a  man  of  this  de- 
scription may  tell  the  truth,  especially  when  telling  it  may 
help  to  keep  him  in  countenance:  and  therefore  we  sub- 
mit this  letter  to  the  reader's  perusal. 

To  General  Butler. 

March  1st,  1782. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  Doctor  Boyd  yesterday. 
He  informs  me  that  he  saw  Captain  Hanly  who  informed 
him  that  he  was  in  action  with  Fanning,  twelve  surprised 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  79 

eighteen,  killed  six  and  took  three  prisoners  and  a  negro, 
the  Conjuror. 

Lieutenant  Davie  who  had  a  very  fine  mare  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  Fanning  in  case  he  ran.  Fanning  got 
about  forty  ^-ards  the  start  of  him,  but  came  within  four 
rods  in  riding  tive  miles.  After  the  mare  failed  and  Fan- 
ning cleared  himself,  but  I  expect  he  is  Taken  now. 

I  hope,  Sir,  that  if  there  is  any  new  particulars,  in  your 
letter  you  will  let  me  know  as  I  am  very  fond  of  good  news. 
I  am  Sir, 

your  friend  and  humble  serv't. 
WM.  O'NEAL. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  strong  and  universal  detestation 
in  which  his  character  and  conduct  were  held,  he  was  ex- 
cepted in  every  treaty  and  every  enactment  that  was  made 
in  favor  of  the  royalists.  "Sabine,  in  his  lives  of  the  loy- 
alists, states  that  when  General  Marion  came  to  terms 
with  Major  Gainey,  and  conceded  to  him  the  privileges  of 
the  ''neutral  ground",  Fanning  was  expressly  excepted 
from  the  arrangement.  He  was  one  of  only  three  persons 
excluded  by  name  from  all  benefits  under  the  general  "Act 
of  Pardon  and  Oblivion"  of  oflTences  committed  during  the 
Revolution.     [Passed  in  1788,  Chapter  VL  Section  8.] 

While  his  confederates,  Colonels  Hector  McNeill  and 
Duncan  Ray,  though  their  operations,  when  acting  sepa- 
rately, were  confined  to  the  intermediate  region  between 
the  Cape  Fear  and  Peedee  rivers,  when  pressed,  they 
found  safe  refuge  in  the  Raft  Swamp,  the  neighboring  mo- 
rasses, and  occasionally  in  the  "neutral  ground"  in  South 
Carolina,  wdiich  the  necessities  of  his  position  compelled 
General  Marion,  to  accord  to  Major  Gainey  when  he  sur- 
rendered," but  Fanning  was  expressly  excluded  from 
this  privilege,  and  his  operations  were  confined,  for  the 
most  part,  to  the  upper  country. 

On  the  same  day  tbey  overtook  a  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Daniel  Clii'ton,  who  had  been  on  a  visit  to  some  of 
his  relations,  who  lived  on  the  Peedee,  and  was  returning 
to  his  home  in  Virginia.  They  took  him  as  a  prisoner; 
and  passing  by  the  same  tree  on  which  Fanning  had 
hanged  White  and  Magaherty,  they  halted  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  hanged  Clifton  on  the  same  limb." 

About  the  time  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  and 
for  some  wrecks  after,  a  state  of  suffering  and  distress  ex- 


80  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

isted  in  Randolph  county,  especially  in  the  upper  parts  of 
it,  which  can  be  hardly  conceived.  Many  of  the  most 
respectable  men  in  the  country,  prominent  Whigs,  who 
had  been  active  in  the  cause,  and  a  number  of  peaceable, 
inoffensive  men,  who  had  taken  no  active  part  on  either 
side,  were  murdered  in  the  most  shocking  manner. 
Houses  and  barns  were  burned  with  everything  they  con- 
tained. Provisions,  bedding  and  comforts  of  every  kind 
were  destroyed  ;  and  man}-  families  hitherto  in  affluent 
circumstances,  were  left  to  beggar\^  or  absolute  starvation. 
All  this  was  done  from  an  insatiable  spirit  of  revenge, 
and  notfhmi  any  hope  of  maintaining  his  ground,  or  of 
materially  aiding  the  British  cause;  for  at  this  time,  the 
spring  of  1782,  the  British  had  been  driven  from  the 
country;  the  great  mass  of  the  Tories  had  been  complete- 
ly subdued,  and  all  hope  of  success  had  vanished.  The 
reader  will  now  recollect  Fanning's  letter  to  Governor 
Burke,  in  which  he  made  the  bold  independant  threat, 
that  if  the  execution  of  his  men  who  had  been  apprehend- 
ed, and  were  then  under  sentence  of  death,  was  not  stop- 
ped, he  would  retaliate  "ten  fold  for  one",  and  that  ''no 
officer  or  private  of  the  rebel  party,"  who  might  fall  into 
his  hands  hereafter,  should  escape  instant  death.  Know- 
ing the  spiteful,  reckless  and  daring  character  of  Fan- 
ning, the  Governor  ought,  at  once  to  have  sent  a  detach- 
ment into  that  region,,  sufficient  to  capture  liim  forth- 
with, or  drive  him  out  of  the  countrj-;  but  probably  he 
had  it  not  in  his  power,  or  did  not  apprehend  that,  as  his 
number  of  men  was  now  considerably  reduced,  lie  would 
be  able  to  fulfil  his  threats.  It  would  not,  however, 
be  difficult,  even  at  this  late  day,  to  show  that  he  did  lit- 
erally, if  not  more  than  literally,  fulfil  it;  and  it  is  said 
that  some  monuments  of  his  atrocities  may  yet  be  seen. 
He  made  only  one  excursion  into  the  north-west  portion 
of  Randolph  county;  but  that  was  one  of  Saracen  fury  and 
most  terrible  destruction.  For  a  fuller  account  of  this 
excursion  than  I  had  previously  obtained,  I  am  indebted 
to  George  C.  Mendenhall,  Esquire,  who  at  my  request, 
very  promptly  and  kindly  undertook  to  obtain  all  the  facts 
he  could  from  Isaac  Farlow,  a  respectable  member  of  the 
Quaker  society,  who  is  now  an  old  man,  in  the  eighty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age,  but«eems  to  retain  all  his  faculties 
unimpaired,  He  lives  on  Deep  river,  just  in  the  neigh- 
borhood  where  many  of  these  atrocities  were  committed, 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  81 

and  well  recollects  all  that  he  saw  or  heard.  From  his 
statements  I  have  been  able  to  trace  the  sequence  ofevents 
better  than  in  any  previous  accounts  that  1  had  received; 
and  he  gives  some  additional  tacts  of  considerable  interest. 
To  converse  with  such  a  man  is  like  being  carried  back  to 
those  days,  and  set  down  amidst  the  very  scenes  of  deso- 
lation and  wretchedness,  as  they  actually  existed. 

The  lirst  victim  of  his  revenge,  or  the  tirst  one  of  any 
note,  was  Colonel  Andrew  Balfour,  who  lived  in  the 
south  west  part  of  Randolph  county,  and  about  ten  miles 
from  Ashboro'.  Only  two  years  before  he  had  represen- 
ted the  county  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  much  esteemed 
in  the  neighborhood.  He  was  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  public  spirit,  highly  patriotic,  liberal  in  his  views  and 
of  an  irreproachable  character.  He  was  at  the  time  just 
recovering  from  an  attack  of  sickness,  and  was  unable  ei- 
ther to  fight  or  make  his  escape;  but  when  he  had  his 
passions  excited  or  was  burning  with  revenge.  Fanning 
knew  no  pity.  His  enemy  was  in  his  power  and  that  was 
enough.  He  had  before  plundered  Balfour's  house,  in  his 
absence,  and  had  now  come  to  take  his  life,  which  he  did 
in  the  most  barbarous  and  shocking  manner,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  sister  and  little  daughter,  eight  or  nine  years 
ot  age,  who  were  both  trampled  upon  and  treated  with 
savage  barbarity.  This  was  on  Sunday,  March  10th,  1782, 
and  was,  certainly  one  of  the  most  base  and  cruel  deeds 
of  his  bloody  carccsr.  Some  of  the  descendants  of  that  lit- 
tle daughter  are  now  among  our  most  estimable  and  use- 
ful citizens;  but  we  will  give  a  fuller  account  of  Colonel 
Balfour  and  of  his  tragical  end,  in  a  separate  article. 

From  this  scene  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed  they  went  to 
the  house  of  William  Milliken,  Esq.,  who  lived'^on  Back 
creek,  about  two  miles  south  of  Johnsonville  or  the  old 
cross  roads.  As  Milliken  was  not  at  home  tbey  burned  all 
his  buildings,  and  destroyed  every  thing  they  could.  On 
going  to  a  house,  if  he  got  the  man  and  took  his  life,  he 
never  burned  the  house  nor  destroyed  any  other  property, 
except  perhaps  to  take  just  what  grain  or  provisions  they 
needed  at  the  time;  but  if  he  failed  to  get  the  man,  he  then 
destroyed  everything  he  could  and  seemed  to  delight  in 
causing  as  much  distress  to  the  family  as  possible.  While 
Milliken's  house  was  on  fire, as  Farlow  stdtes,his  Avife  Jane, 
carried  out  a  favorite  feather  bed;  but  they  carried  it  back 
and  threw  it  on  the  fire.   When  the  bed  began  to  burn,  they 


82  RE^'OLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

twisted  a  stick  into  the  feathers  and  scattered  them  over 
the  house.  When  the  blazing  leathers  as  they  ^ew  in  ev- 
ery direction  through  the  rooms,  caught  in  a  large  bundle 
of  yarn,  which  being  on  the  wall,  they  only  taunted  Mrs. 
Milliken,  and  said,  "Look  at  your  yarn,  old  woman."  On 
leaving  Milliken 's,  the}^  compelled  his  son  Benjamin  and 
a  3'oung  man  b}'  the  name  ot  Joshua  Lowe  to  go  along  and 
pilot  them  to  the  house  of  Col.  John  Collins,  where  he 
met  with  a  disappointment;  for  Collins  was  not  at  home, 
but  they  burned  his  house. 

He  next  went  to  the  house  of  Colonel  John  Collier,  who 
was  the  Senator  for  Randolph  county,  and  in  other  respects 
a  prominent  man.  He  had  been  appointed  County  Sur-_ 
veyor,  but  either  being  u'nacquainted  with  the  business 
himself,  or  not  having  time  for  it,  he  had  brought  a  young 
man,  by  the  name  of  William  Clarke,  from  Virginia,  to 
do  the  surveying.  Clarke  soon  found  where  the  vacant 
lands  lay  and  entered  them.  Frequently  he  entered  lands 
on  which  people  were  living,  but  whether  with  good  title 
deeds  or  not  I  have  not  learned;  but  this  seems  to  have 
been  done  chiefly  with  those  who  were  regarded  as  Tories, 
or  who  were  not  on  the  Whig  side,  and  perhaps  with  such 
as  he  thought  could  be  frightened  into  measures.  After 
awhile  he  employed  Ralph  Lowe,  and  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Linden,  to  sell  these  lands  for  him.  "JS'athan  Farlow" 
says  my  informant,  "had  to  pay  a  fat  steer  and  some  gold 
for  his  land;"  but  in  process  of  time,  Xathan  Farlow  own- 
ed all  the  lands  of  these  men  and  he  himself,  Isaac  Farlow, 
now  lives  on  the  Lowe  land.  It  was  believed  by  the  suf- 
ferers that  these  things  were  done  by  Collier's  connivance, 
if  not  by  his  express  direction;  and  while  his  prominence 
as  a  Whig  made  him  a  special  object  of  Fanning's  ven- 
geance, he  had  incured,  justly  or  unjustly,  the  ill  will  of  all 
that  class  in  the  neighborhood,  and  probably  in  the  whole 
or  a  large  part  of  the  county. 

On  the  night  of  Fanning's  attack,  he  was  at  home,  and 
asleep;  but  being  well  aware  that  he  ran  a  considerable 
risk  in  doing  so,  before  he  lay  down  he  placed  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Benjamin  Fincher,  as  sentinel,  on  a 
pile  of  rails,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  rods  from  the  house, 
and  left  his  horse  tied  near  the  door,  \vhere  he  had  fed  him 
in  a  hominy  mortar,  probably  with  the  saddle  on  and  ready 
to  be  mounted  at  a  moment's  warning.  As  the  assailants 
approached,  and  Fincher  hailed  them,  Faaning  made  his 


COL,   DAVID   FANNING.  83 

two  Whig  pilots,  Miliken  and  Lowe,  answer  that  they 
were  friends.  Becoming  more  and  more  uneasy  as  they 
approached  so  mysteriously,  he  kept  hailing  them,  and 
they  kept  answering  that  they  were  friends  until  they  got 
pretty  near,  when  two  guns  were  fired  at  him  ;  but  having 
on  a  strong,  tight  vest,  the  balls  glanced  and  did  him  no 
serious  injury.  My  informant,  Isaac  Farlow,  saw  Finchcr 
the  next  day,  and  the  marks  of  the  bullets  on  the  vest. 
"When  they  tired  on  Fincher,  he  hopped  off  the  rail  pile, 
and  ran  for  life,  leaving  his  musket  behind  him.  The  fir- 
ing roused  Colonel  Collier,  and  springing  instantly  to  his 
feet,  cried  out,  "Parade!  parade!  boys,  parade!"  Such 
a  command,  uttered  with  so  much  boldness,  and  by  a 
man  of  his  standing  and  inftuence,  made  Fanning  pause 
for  a  moment,  and  this  allowed  Collier  time  to  mount  his 
horse  and  escape;  but  the  house  was  burned  and  the  prem- 
ises made  a  scene  of  utter  desolation.  He  lived  about 
three  miles  from  Bell's  mill,  and  in  a  south-west  direction. 
He  went  the  same  night  to  the  house  of  Captain  John 
Bryant,  who  lived  about  half  a  mile  from  New  Market, 
and  on  the  place  notv  owned  and  occupied  by  Joseph 
]S'ewland ;  but  missed  his  way  and  went  to  the  house  of 
Stephen  Harlin,  who  was  a  Quaker,  if  I  mistake  not,  or  at 
least  an  inoffensive  kind  of  a  man.  Fanning  did  not  mo- 
lest him  ;  but  compelled  two  of  his  daughters,  Betsj^  and 
Elsy,  to  go  along  and  show  him  the  way  to  Bryant's 
house.  On  riding  up  they  first  enquired  for  the  man  of 
the  house,  and  were  told  that  he  was  tending  Walker's 
mill,  on  Sandy  creek,  when  one  of  them  exclaimed  with 
an  oath, ''Here  is  Walker,  now."  They  then  began  en- 
quiring who  lived  in  this  direction  and  who  lived  in  that 
direction,  until  Bryant  w^as  named,  when  they  said  that  was 
the  place  to  which  they  wished  to  go,  and  made  these  two 
daughters  of  Walker's  miller  get  up  behind  and  go  along 
as  pilots.  When  they  came  up  they  made  a  rush  against 
the  door  to  burst  it  open,  but  it  was  fast  barred.  The 
noise  waked  Bryant,  however,  and  he  asked  "Who  is 
there?"  They  answered.  Colonel  Fanning,  and  asked 
him  to  open  the  door.  He  told  them  to  wait  till  he  got 
his  breeches  on;  but  they  damned  him  and  his  breeches 
too.  He,  Bryant,  called  a  young  man  who  was  in  the 
house,  to  get  up,  but  he  thought  it  was  all  a  jest  when 
they  told  him  that  Fanning  was  there.  They  called  up- 
pn  him  to  surrender  ;  and  when  he  asked  them  what  they 


84  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDEXTS. 

would  do  with  him  if  he  did  surrender,  they  answered 
that  they  would  jxtrole  him,  but  he  replied,  ''Damn 
you  and  your  parole  too.  I  have  had  one,  and  I  will  nev- 
er take  another."  Fannino^  then  spoke,  and  said,  ''My 
life  for  his,  if  Walker  don'f  kill  him."  The  Miss  Harlins, 
whom  they  had  brought  along  as  pilots,  entreated  him  to 
surrender,  assuring  him  that  Fanning  was  there  ;  but  not 
it,  he  cursed  Fanning  and  tbe  whole  of  them.  He  opened 
the  door  a  little  way  to  admit  the  girls,  and  one  of  them 
started  to  go  in ;  but  Walker  caught  her  by  the  dress  and 
pulled  her  back,  swearing  that  she  was  going  in  to  pro- 
tect Bryant.  Bryant  seems  to  have  been  a  brave  hut 
reckless  kind  of  a  man.  After  holding  out  as  long  as  he 
could,  he  opened  the  door,  and  going  out  on  the  step, 
said,  "Gentlemen,  I  surrender;"  but  instantly  he  was  shot 
down,  and  fell  back  against  his  wife,  who  was  standing 
just  behind  him.  As  she  was  raising  him  up,  another  of 
the  company  stepped  forward  and  shot  him  in  the  eye. 
Fanning  then  threatened  death  to  any  one  who  should 
give  the  alarm  before  daylight ;  but,  according  to  his  cus- 
tom, as  he  had  killed  the  man  he  was  aiter,  he  destroyed 
no  property  and  did  no  further  damage.  As  he  probably 
felt  a  little  Avearied  aft^r  so  many  labors,  he  lay  down  in 
the  cradle,  and  after  rocking  himself  there  very  comforta- 
bly for  some  time,  while  the  rest  were  sauntering  about, 
thty  all  gathered  up  and  went  off  in  quest  of  other  vic- 
tims. 

As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  Richard  Isaacs,  who  lived 
at  Bryants,  went  over  to  Farlow's  and  told  them  what 
had  been  done.  He  and  his  wife,  Ruth,  went  over  to 
Bryant's  before  daylight ;  but  Nathan  stopped  at  some 
distance  from  the  house  until  he  ascertained  whether  he 
could  go  with  safety.  His  wife  on  entering  the  house, 
found  the  dead  body  of  Bryant  lying  on  the  door  sill, 
with  the  head  inside  and  the  legs  and  feet  outside.  What 
had  become  of  Mrs.  Bryant  and  the  children,  in  the  mean- 
time,— Avhether  they  had  been  driven  away  or  frighten- 
ed away  by  the  ruffians,  or  finding  that  they  could  do 
nothing  with  it,  after  Isaacs  left,  they  were  letting  it  lie 
until  some  of  the  neighbors  would  come  in,  and  Avere  giv- 
ing vent  to  their  grief,  I  have  not  learned  ;  — but,  by  day- 
light, N^athan  Farlow  and  his  wife  had  the  corpse  laid  out. 
At  sunrise,  Isaac  Farl  jw,  my  informant,  went  over  him- 
self, and  saw  the  body  and  the  two  bullet  holes.     The  first 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  85 

hall  had  entered  his  hreast  and  the  other  his  head;  but  nei- 
ther of  them  had  passed  through  him.  Br^^ant  was  a  dar- 
ing, tearless  kind  of  a  man.  An  old  friend  in  that  neigh- 
borhood told  me  that  he  could  have  made  his  ese*ipe  from 
the  back  door,  if  he  had  done  it  as  soon  as  the  alarm  was 
given  ;  but  that  he  scorned  to  run  from  his  enemies,  and 
did  not  surrender  untii  he  found  they  were  about  set- 
ting tire  to  the  house.  When  he  cursed  them  and  their  pa- 
role too,  they  told  him  in  language  which  vrould  then  have 
been  understood  an}-  where,  that  they  would  "parole  hira 
the  near  way  to  Georgia^''  and,  going  to  some  ''log  heaps" 
which  were  burning  in  a  field,  not  far  from  the  house, 
they  got  a  "chunk"  or  brand  for  the  purpose  of  burning 
the  house,  with  all  that  it  contained.  Seeing  that  they 
were  determined  on  his  death,  and  rather  than  let  his 
wife  and  children  be  burned  up  in  the  house  with  him,  he 
opened  the  door,  went  out  on  the  step  and  offered  to  sur- 
render, but  was  instantly  shot  down. 

After  Fanning  and  his  troop  had  left  Bryant's  some- 
thing like  an  hour,  they  returned  and  enquired  the  way  to 
Colonel  Dougan's  house.  They  burned  his  house  with  all 
the  buildings  on  the  premises,  and  destroyed  everything 
they  could.  After  leaving  Dougan's,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  same  day,  they  captured  a  AVhig  and  hung  him  on 
the  spot.  The  AVhigs  had,  some  time  before,  hung  a  Tory, 
b}^  the  name  of  Isaac  Jackson,  on  the  limb  of  a  tree  which 
stood  by  a  shoft  turn  in  the  road  near  Brower's  and 
Spinks' ;  and  Fanning  had  sworn  that  he  would  hang  five 
Whigs  on  the  same  limb  for  every  Tory  the  Whigs  hung  ; 
but,  old  Friend  Farlow  says  they  mistook  the  limb  and 
hung  him  on  a  limb  close  by  the  one  on  which  the  Tory 
had  "been  hanged  ;  for  he  knew  both  the  limbs.  They 
cut  a  notch  on  the  limb  on  which  they  hung  the  Whig, 
using  it  as  a  talley,  and  intending  to  cut  an  additional 
notch  for  every  W'hig  they  hung  on  it  until  their  number 
was  complete;  but  fortunately  for  the  country,  he  was 
disappointed  lor  this  proved  to  be  his  first  and  last  visit 
into  that  neighborhood. 

During  this  expedition  up  Deep  river,  w^hich  included 
some  three  or  four  days,  a  little  incident  occurred  which, 
though  of  sa)all  importance  in  itself,  was  rather  amusing 
than"  otherwise,  and  showed  the  terror  of  his  name,  of 
which  old  Friend  Farlow  gives  the  following  account. 

A    troop   of  Light-horse,   from   the   foot  of  the  Blue 


86  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

Eidge,  or  what  was  then  called  the  Hollows,  in  Surry 
county,  came  down  Deep  river  into  the  Coxes' settlement, 
on  the  hunt  of  Fanning,  and  after  giving  him  a  chase,  as 
they  said,  in  the  morning,  but  without  success,  they  load- 
ed themselves  with  plunder  tVom  the  settlers  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, such  as  knives  and  forks,  plates,  spoons,  &c. 
Having  done  so,  they  set  off  on  their  return,  Iir^aac  Far- 
low  says,  and  came  as  far  as  his  uncle  George  Farlow's, 
who  was  then  living  in  a  cabin  on  the  road-side,  with  a 
small  lot  enclosed  around  it.  The  house  stood  on  the 
east  bank  of  Web's  creek,  about  three  or  four  miles  east 
from  the  present  town  of  Ashboro',  and  is  now  owned  by 
Joseph  Cannon.  When  the  party  came  opposite  to  the 
house,  Farlow  was  standing  in  the  door,  and  one  of  the 
men  presented  his  gun  as  it  about  to  shoot,  but  another 
stopped  him  and  told  him  not  to  shoot,  for  that  was  the 
man  of  the  house.  Here  they  halted,  sitting  on  their 
horses,  and  gave  an  account  ot  their  adventure  in  the 
morning,  stating  that  they  had  been  in  pursuit  of 
Fanning  that  they  had  given  him  a  hard  chase,  but 
without  success,  and  that  they  were  making  great 
boast  of  what  they  would  do  if  they  could  only  get  a 
chance  at  him,  when  one  of  them  happened  to  turn  his 
eye  down  the  road  and  exclaimed,  with  an  oath,  ''Yonder 
is  Fanning  now."  Instantly  they  dashed  olf,  down  the 
hill,  which  was  very  steep,  and  into  the  creek,  all  huddled 
up  together.  Farlow  said  there  was  such  a  blaze  of  lire 
from  the  guns  of  Fanning's  men,  as  they  passed  tlie  door 
that  he  thought  the  others  must  have  been  all  killed ;  but 
not  much  execution  was  done.  When  the  mountain  par- 
ty got  out  of  the  creek,  they  left  the  road  and  took  into 
the  woods,  towards  the  place  where  Ashboro'  now  stands, 
and  Fanning's  party  in  hot  pursuit.  It  w^as  neck  or  nought, 
and  they  fled  for  life,  throwing  away  every  incumbrance 
and  strewing  their  plunder,  knives  and  forks,  plates, 
spoons,  and  everything  else,  all  through  the  woods.  In  a 
short  time  Fanning  returned,  bringing  a  prisoner  with  him, 
who  was  badly  wounded,  and  stating  that  they  had  killed 
one  man  in  the  woods,  over  the  creek  :  but,  on  search  be- 
ing made  by  the  neighbors  he  was  not  found.  Fanning 
left  the  wounded  man  in  the  care  of  Farlow,  and  told 
him,  rather  sarcastically,  that  when  he  got  well,  he  would 
be  on  the  hunt  of  him  again  ;  but  the  wounded  man  very 
humbly    protested    that  he  never  would.     Fanning  then 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  87 

returned  and  in  the  direction  from  which  he  came  while 
in  pursuit  of  the  mountaineers,  and  before  he  had  over- 
taken them,  he  met  Stephen  Mendenhall  and  his  wife;  rid- 
ing two  very  good  horses,  and,  as  some  of  his  horses 
were  failing,  he  made  them  exchange,  but  told  them  to 
stay  there"  until  he  returned.  They  did  so  ;  and,  on  his 
return,  he  gave  them  bacK  their  own  horses. 

A  troop  of  Whigs  was  instantly  raised,  headed  by  John 
Clarke,  and  went  "in    pursuit.     Clarke  was   a  man  of  as 
much  daring  courage  and  energy  of  character  as  Fanning 
himself,  buf  had  not  as  much  stratagem  nor  adroitness  in 
the  execution  of  his  plans.     Captain  John  Gillespie,  hav- 
ing probably  been  sent  for,  came  down  with  his  company 
from  Guilford  and  joined  them.     Gillespie  feared  no  man 
and   would    have    gloried    in    meeting  this  enemy  of  his 
country.     Fanning  "and  his  corps  had  not  lett  the  place  ot 
execution    more    than    a  few  minutes  when  this  troop  ot 
Whigs,  under  the  command  or  leadership  of  John  Clarke, 
came  in  sight      A  few  of  Fanning's  men  it  seems  had  de- 
layed a  little,  and  having  cut  down  the  corpse,  were  doing 
something  about  it,  either  by  way  of  preparation  for  bu- 
rying it,  or  more  probably,  they  were  robbing  it,  of  what- 
ever" money,   clothes  or  "  anything    else  which  the  man 
had  about  him  that  was  worth  carrying  away.    While  thus 
emploved  the  Whigs  came  in  sight,  and  they  fled.    There 
was  a  hot  pursuit;  but  the  Tories^,  having  the  fleetest  horses, 
all  made  their  escape   except  one  who  was  overtaken  by 
John  Dugan,  and  John  Clarke.  Dugan's  gun  or  pistol  snap- 
ped,   but    Clarke    shot    and    probably    inflicted  a  slight 
wound.     The    Tory  fell  to  the  ground  and  lay  there  and 
made  pretence  that  he  was  just  breathing  his  last.  Being 
deceived    by    appearances    and    wishing  to  overtake  the 
rest  if  possible,    they    left  him,  as  they  supposed,  in  his 
last    agonies  ;  but   as   soon   as  they  were  out  of  sight,  he 
jumped    up  and  rejoicing  at  the  success  of  his  stratagem, 
ran  for  dear  life. 

From  this  time  until  he  left  the  State,  I  have  been  able 
to  get  no  consistent  or  satisfactory  account ;  but  it  was 
probably  soon  after  the  transactions  above  related,  that 
he  was  so  befooled  by  James  Harding;  for  his  right-hand 
man,  the  bloody  Walker,  was  killed  or  mortally  wounded 
on  that  occasion  ;  but  he  was  with  Fanning  on  this  bloody 
excursion  up  the  river.  It  is  known  however  that  he 
continued  his  murders  and  depredations  for  some  weeks, 


88  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDEXTS. 

probably  two  mouths  longer  and  with  a  viraleuce  increas- 
ing in  proportion  as  his  fortunes  became  desperate.  Many 
of  his  men  left  him  and  went  to  the  mountains  or  other 
places  where  they  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  law  and 
the  vengeance  of  the  other  party  ;  but  a  number  adhered 
to  him  until  the  last,  with  alirmness  and  a  zeal  worthy  ota 
better  cause.  We  presume  that  it  was  on  their  return  from 
their  murderuus  and  dev^astatmg  excursion  up  Deep  river 
that  they  went  to  Bell's  mill  and  made  an  attack  upon  his 
house  in  the  night;  but  were  frightened  away  by  a  well- 
managed  stratagem  of  Airs.  Bell,  a  fuller  account  of  which 
will  be  given  in  a  separate  sketch  of  her  character,  sut- 
ienngs  and  patriotic  services  during  the  war. 


CAPTURE  OF  ANDREW  HUNTER. 

Ever^'body  in  the  whole  country  has,  prol)ably,  heard 
something  about  the  capture  ot  Andrew  Hunter  by  Fan- 
ning; and  of  his  singular  and  almost  miraculous  escape. 
The  incident  was  one  of  the  last  in  Manning's  career;  and 
the  account  of  it  here  given,  is  taken  in  part  trom  Judge 
Murphy's  papers  as  published  in  the  University  Magazine 
and  parti}'  from  other  sources. 

It  seems  that  Hunter  was  a  Whig,  and  lived  on  the  wa- 
ters of  Little  river,  inthe  south  or  south-west  part  of  Ran- 
dolph county.  In  addition  to  the  well  known  fact  that 
he  was  a  Whig,  and  a  decided  advocate  of  independence, 
he  had  made  some  remarks  about  Fanning,  which  hav- 
ing come  to  his  ears,  had  so  excited  his  wrath,  that  he 
had  sworn  to  take  Hunter's  life,  if  he  ever  got  him  in  his 
power.  When  Hunter  and  John  Latham,  one  ot  his 
neighbors,  were  going  with  a  cart  to  market,  on  Pedee, 
for  the  purpose  ot  getting  salt  and  some  other  necessaries 
for  their  families,  they  saw  |Fanning  and  his  corps  ap- 
proaching. Latham  was  walking  beside  the  liorse,  and 
Hunter  was  riding  in  the  cart.  He  was  well  aware  of 
Fanning's  purpose  to  take  his  life  and  he  knew  that  it 
would  be  perfectly  useless  for  him  to  think  of  escaping 
on  foot  through  the  open  pine  woods.  As  the  only  thing 
in  his  power,  he  covered  himself  up  as  well  as  he  could 
in  the  cart,  and  left  the  rest  to  an  all-wise  Providence. 
When  Fanning  came  up  he  stopped  the  cart,  and  asked 
Latham  where  he  was  going.     He  said   he  was  going  to 


COL.    DAVID    FANNING.  89 

such  a  place  on  the  Pedee  to  get  salt  and  some  other  nec- 
essaries. "What  have  you  iu  your  cart?"  Some  flax- 
seed, beeswax  &c."  "Have  you  any  thing  to  eat?"  La- 
tham told  him  that  be  had  a  little,  but  he  hoped  they 
would  not  take  it  from  him,  as  it  was  very  difficult  to 
get  any  thing  on  that  road.  Fanning  swore  he  didn't 
care  tor  that;  and,  as  they  were  hungry,  they  would  have 
it.  He  then  dismounted  and  entered  the  front  end  of  the 
cart  to  search  for  provision;  but,  at  the  first  haul,  he  un- 
cov^ered  Hunter,  and  exclaimed,  with  a  kind  of  malignant 
joy,  -'Ah  you  interna!  rascal — I  havegotyou  now.  Come 
out  here,  and  be  saying  your  prayers  as  fast  as  you  can; 
for  you  have  very  few  minutes  to  hve."  Hunter  obeyed 
of  course;  and  Fanning,  in  a  minute  or  two  brought  out 
the  provisions. 

It  was  Fanning's  design  to  dispose  of  Hunter  at  once 
and  was  giving  his  orders  to  that  eitect;  but  some  of  his 
men  remarked  to  him  that,  as  they  were  very  hungry, 
they  had  better  eat  first,  and  let  "the  poor  devil"  have  a 
little  lime  to  prepare  for  death.  To  this  proposal.  Fan- 
ning and  the  rest  agreed  ;  and,  throwing  the  rope  with 
which  he  was  to  be  hung,  at  his  feet,  they  told  him  that 
he  had  only  fifteen  minutes  to  hve.  Then  they  all  stack- 
ed their  arms  against  a  large  tree,  close  by,  and  set  their 
grinders  to  work  in  good  earnest,  taking  care  to  keep 
Hunter  between  them  and  the  cart  In  this  situation, 
while  trying  to  pray,  he  was  trying  to  watch,  and  at  the 
same  time,  he  prepared  to  act  if  occasion  should  offer. 
The  first  thought  that  came  into  his  mind,  w^as  to  seize  a 
gun,  and  sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  he  could  ;  but  the  same 
thought  started  up  in  Fanning's  mind  at  the  same  mo- 
ment; and  he  said  to  his  men,  ''Stand  by  your  guns,  or 
that  rascal  will  get  one  and  kill  some  of  us  before  we 
know  what  we  are  about."  He  next  thought  of  the  "Bay 
Doe,"  and  a  swelling  emotion  of  hope  arose  in  his  bosom, 
that  if  he  could  only  get  on  her  back,  there  might  be 
some  probability  of  his  escape  ;  but  even  a  look  that  way, 
would  reveal  his  intentions,  and  quench  the  last  ray  of 
hope. 

Before  the  fifteen  minutes  were  expired,  one  of  the  men 
by  the  name  of  Small,  rose  up  with  his  gun  in  his  hand; 
and  Hunter  begged  that  he  would  intercede  with  Fanning 
to  spare  his  life.  As  they  conversed  together  they,  un- 
consciously perhaps  to   themselves,  advanced  a  few  feet, 


90  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

and  this  brought  them  close  to  the  Bay  Doe,  where  she 
was  standing  with  her  bridle  loosely  thrown  on  a  bush. 
Upon  Snialf  is  telling  him  thai  there  was  no  hope  for  him, 
he  leaped  forward,"  vaulted  into  Fanning's  saddle,  and 
throwing  himself  for^Tirfd,  lay  as  flat  on  her  shoulders  as 
he  could.  With  his  left  hand,  he  disengaged  or  took  up 
the  bridle;  but  the  mare  unwilUng,  perhaps  to  leave  the 
other  horses,  did  not  start  at  once.  Orders  were  instantly 
given  to  shoot  him;  and  Small,  though  at  the  distance  of 
a  tew  paces,  fired  at  him  without  etiect.  The  firing  ot  the 
gun  started  the  mare  at  full  speed;  and  she  being  Fan- 
iiing's  favorite  nag,  he  was  about  as  anxious  fi)r  her  safety 
as  he  was  for  the  death  ot  the  rider.  Hunter  said  after- 
-vvards  that  as  he  darted  oii,  he  heard  Planning  telling 
them  to  kill  the  rascal,  but  take  care  and  not  kill  his  mare. 
As  he  lay  so  close  to  the  mare's  withers,  it  required  a 
very  good  marksman,  or  very  good  luck,  to  miss  her  and 
hit  the  rider,  and  three  more  guns  were  fired  at  him,  but 
he  was  still  unhurt.  He  heard  the  bullets  whistling  by 
him  on  every  side;  but  his  only  chance  was  to  keep  his 
position  and  go  ahead. 

A  fifth  shot  lodged  a  ball  in  the  fleshy  part  of  his 
shoulder,  which  disabled  his  arm,  but  so  intense  w^as  the 
excitement  of  his  mind,  that  he  was  hardly  aware  of  the 
injury.  William  Kerr,  Fanning's  brother  in  law,  was  the 
one  who  shot  him;  but  this  was  not  generally  known  un- 
til some  time  after.  He  pressed  forward  and  was  closely 
pursued  for  a  mile,  but  when  they  lost  sight  of  him  he  began 
to  breathe  more  freely,  and  he  saw  the  blood  running  down 
the  mare's  shoulder.  The  first  thought  which  passed 
through  his  mind,  was  that  the  mare  must  be  badly  wound- 
ed, and  it  so,  his  case  might  still  be  a  hopeless  one.  After 
a  moment's  examination,  he  ascertained  that  the  w^ound 
was  not  in  the  mare  but  in  himself.  A  slug  had  lodged  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  shoulder  and  his  arm  was  nearly  or 
quite  powerless.  He  kept  the  road  for  two  or  three  miles, 
when  he  turned  into  the  woods  and  rode  ten  miles  further 
to  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Steed,  bleeding  profusely  all  the 
w^ay.  As  soon  as  he  alighted  he  tainted ;  and  Steed  collect- 
ed a  party  of  men  to  guard  him.  He  also  sent  for  a  physi- 
cian who  dressed  his  wound,  and  in  a  fe^v  days  he  was 
sent  to  Salisbury,  where  the  ball  was  extracted,  and  he 
got  well. 


COL.   DAVID   FANNING.  91 

In  the  hurry  of  pursuit,  Fanning  had  neglected  to  no- 
tice, or  to  trace  the  blood  which  marked  the  route  of 
Hunter,  and  continued  up  the  road  to  Hunter's  house. 
Finding  that  Hunter  had  escaped,  and  that  his  niare, 
with  the  brace  of  pibtols  presented  to  him  by  Major 
Craig,  at  Wilmington,  were  lost,  he  determined  to  wreak 
his  vengeance  on  Hunter's  tamily.  After  plundering  tlie 
house,  he  tuok  Mrs.  Hunter,  then  far  advanced  in  preg^ian- 
cy,  and  all  ot  Hunter's  negroes,  and  conducted  them  to  a 
lonely  place  in  the  woods  in  the  county  ot  MoorCj  on 
Bear  creek.  From  this  place  he  despatched  a  messenger 
to  Hunter  with  an  otier  to  return  his  wife  and  negroes  if 
Hunter  \vould  send  back  his  mare  and  pistols.  Hunter 
returned  for  answer,  that  the  mare  had  been  sent  away 
and  he  could  not  get  her.  This  answer  was  delivered  to 
Fanning  in  the  evening  of  the  5th  day  atter  he  had  taken 
up  camp  in  the  woods  in  Moore.  The  sun  was  about  half 
an  hour  high  when  the  answer  was  returned,  and  Fanning 
immediately  mounted  and  went  oft,  taking  with 
him  Hunter's  negroes  and  leaving  Mrs.  Hunter  alone. 
jSmally,  after  proceeding  a  short  distance,  returned  to 
Mrs.  Hunter  and  informed  her  where  she  w^ould  tind  a 
path  near  the  camp  which  led  to  a  house  not  far  distant. 
Mrs.  Hunter  proceeded  to  the  house,  where  she  was  kind- 
ly treated,  and  from  which  she  w^as  sent  home.  It  is  prob- 
able, Irom  this  conduct  of  Smally,  that  Hunter's  entrea- 
ties at  the  cart  had  weighed  upon  his  feelings,  and  that 
when  he  tired  on  Hunter,  he  intentionally  missed  him. 
"Hunter  was  still  living  when  Judge  Murphy  collected 
his  information,  and  had  long  resided  in  South  Carolina, 
on  the  Pedee  river,  above  Mars'  Blutf.  He  was  a  man  of 
respectability  and  \vealth,  and  his  adventure  with  Fan- 
ning had  not  then  ceased  to  be  an  interesting  topic  of 
conversation  to  hisiriends." 

That  the  blood  of  the  Bay  Doe  has  been  well  known  and 
highly  appreciated  ever  since,  is  proved  from  the  foil  own- 
ing facts. 

Some    forty   years  ago,  more  or  less,  Colonel  M ,  a 

gentleman  in  one  of  the  neighboring  counties,  who  took 
much  delight  in  the  amusements  of  the  turf,  and  who  at- 
tained a  great  deal  of  celebrity  among  the  sporting  gen- 
try of  the  State,  had  a  mare  which,  from  her  blood,  he 
called  the  Bay  Doe,  and  which  never  was  beat,  except 
whea   she  flew  the  track,  a  thing  which  she  was  very  apt 


92  REVOLUTIONARY   INCIDENTS. 

to  do.  On  one  occasion,  when  heavy  bets  were  pending, 
she  flew  the  track ;  and  in  her  reckless  flight,  bounded 
hke  a  deer  over  a  very  high  fence,  which  caused  her  to 
fall,  and  crippled  her  so  badly  that  it  was  supposed  she 
never   could  be   run  again.     An  important  race  was  soon 

after  to  take  place  in  Salisbury,  which  Colonel  M ,  as 

a  matter  of  course,  attended,  and  took  her  with  him  ;  but^ 
as  she  was  still  a  little  lame,  he  had  no  thought  of  putting 
her  on  the  track.  A  friend,  or  an  intimate  acquaintance 
of  his,  a  gentleman  who  lived  in  an  adjoining  county,  by 
unfortunate  bets  of  the  kind,  or  in  some  other  way,  had 
60  far  reduced  his  property  that  he  thought  it  necessary 
to  remove  with  his  family  to  the  far  west,  and  was  in  Salis- 
bury on  his  way  to  the  west  when  the  races  came  on.  With- 
out  consultation    or  enquiry,  he  at  once  bet  five  hundred 

dollars  on  the  Bay  Doe  ;  and  when  he  told  Colonel  M 

what  he  had  done,  he  replied  that  he  was  very  sorry  to 
hear  it ;  for,  as  the  mare  was  not  yet  entirely  recovered 
from  her  lameness,  she  could  not  be  run,  and  he  would 
lose  his  money.  However;  they  concluded,  about  mid- 
night or  alter,  when  every  body  else  was  asleep,  that  they 
would  go  out  with  her,  nearly  a  mile  and  a  halt  from  town, 
and  take  her  round  the  path  t )  see  whether  it  would  beat 
all  worth  while  to  enter  her  for  the  next  day's  ra(;e  ;  but  she 
flew  the  track  again,  threw  the  rider  and  dashed  back, 
or  rather  flew  back  to  town  as  if  all  the  witches  in  crea- 
tion bad  been  after  her.  From  this  exhibition  of  her  re- 
cruited   strength    and    agility.  Colonel  M concluded 

that  he  would  give  his  Iriend  a  chance,  at  all  events,  and 
put  her  on  the  track.  Contrary  to  all  expectation,  she  be- 
haved very  genteely,  indeed,  and  "swept  stakes."  This 
lucky  bet  so  far  relieved  the  gentlenian  from  his  embar- 
rassments that  he  at  once  gave  out  his  removal  to  the 
west,  and  returned  with  his  family,  to  their  former  neigh- 
borhood. 

Xot  more  than  two  or  three  years  ago,  a  suit  was  decid- 
ed in  Randolph  Court,  Judge  Battle  on  the  bench,  which 
depended  on  proving  the  stock  of  the  Bay  Doe,  and  shows 
that  her  blood  is  to  this  day  well  known  and  highly  val- 
ued in  the  county.  It  is  a  wonder  that  horses  have  not 
been  advertised  under  the  name  of  the  Red  Buck,  and 
tracing  their  pedigree  back  to  Fanning's  stock,  or  blood- 
ed mares  selling  for  hundreds  of  dollars  because  they 
are  descended  from  Fanning's  Bay  Doe.     People   in  this 


COL.  DAVID  FANNING.  93 

country  have  been  giving  immense  prices  for  "blood- 
ed horses,*'  English  horses,  when  we  have  horses  in  this 
country  that  have  as  much  blood  and  as  good  blood  as 
those  which  are  imported  from  Europe  or  any  other  c^jn- 
tinent. 

The  Bay  Doe  saved  Hunter's  life  on  another  occasion, 
and  did  it  by  performing  a  feat,  which  is  well  worthy  of 
record  ;  or  at  least,  such  is  the  tradition  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  it  probably  has  some  foundation  in  truth.  It  is 
said  that  when  he  was  riding  the  Bay  Doe,  on  the  high 
ground,  south  of  Deep  river,  and  not  far  above  the  Butta- 
lo  ford,  where  the  village  of  Franklinville  now  stands,  he 
was  like  to  be  overtaken  by  some  of  Fanning's  men.  He 
lirst  attempted  to  gain  the  ford  ;  but  found  they  were 
heading  him  in  that  direction.  He  then  turned  his 
course  up  the  river,  but  they  were  there  ready  to  receive 
him.  The  only  alternative  was  to  surrender,  which 
would  be  certain  and  instant  death,  or  to  make  a  desper- 
ate plunge  down  a  precipice,  some  fifty  feet  high  into  the 
river.  He  chose  the  latter,  and  escaped  unhurt.  The 
descent  is  not  perpendicular ;  but  makes  an  angle  with 
the  horizon,  probably,  of  sixty  degrees.  It  is  also  rough 
and  craggy.  Any  one  v»'ho  will  look  at  it  from  the  road, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  will  say  that  it  was  a  greater 
feat  of  horsemanship  than  that  of  General  Putnam  in  rid- 
ing down  the  stone  steps  at  the  church.  It  was  such  a 
daring  adventure  that  his  pursuers,  though  they  rode  like 
Tartars,  were  mounted  on  the  best  of  horses,  and  were 
burning  with  revenge  would  not  dare  to  follow  him,  but 
stopped  short,  in  a  kind  of  amazement,  and  contented 
themselves  with  firing  two  or  three  pistols  after  him  As 
there  was  no  level  ground  at  the  bottom  of  the  descent, 
he  plunged  right  into  the  river  and  turned  down  the 
stream,  sometimes  swimming  and  sometimes  on  terra 
Jirnui  or  floundering  over  rocks,  until  he  found  a  place 
where   he  got  out  on  the  north  side  and  made  his  escape. 

Very  few  ot  Fanning's  ofiicers  died  a  natural  death; 
and  not  more  than  two  or  three  of  them,  so  far  as  I  have 
learned,  ever  became  citizens  of  even  common  respecta- 
bility. Major  John  Reins,  Jr.  was  in  1819  living  in  Ten- 
nessee, very  poor,  and  keeping  a  mill,.  Richard  Ed- 
wards was  killed  at  Kirk's  farm  the  week  before  the  bat- 
tle of  Cane  creek.  Edward  Edwards,  his  brother,  who 
then  took  the  command,  was  killed  the   next   week  at 


94  REVOLUTIONARY  INCIDENTS. 

Lindley's  mill.  Meredith  Edwards  was  indicted  tor  trea- 
son about  the  beginning  of  1782.  John  Keins,  Sr.,  was 
killed  at  Lindley's  mill.  John  Eagle  was  shot  or  hanged 
Dear  Pedee.  James  Price  Avas  hanged  near  the  same 
place.  David  Jackson  was  hanged  by  Colonel  Lopp  near 
Fork  creek  in  the  lower  end  ot  Randolph  county.  Thom- 
as Darke  was  hanged  at  Hillsboro'  in  1782.  John  Willi- 
son  lied  to  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  very  poor.  John 
Lindley,  the  same.  Stephen  Walker  was  shot  in  April, 
in  1782,  by  Colonel  Gholson,  on  Deep  river.  James 
Lindley  was  shot  near  the  mountains;  and.  as  I  under- 
stood, Simon  Lindley,  the  same.  Others  say  that  he  was 
vshot  in  his  own  neighborhood,  under  the  suspicion  that 
he  had  murdered  his  wnfe.  William  Lindley — Ignatius 
AVallaston  fled  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  alive  long 
after  the  war,  and  was  a  bric^klayer  by  trade.  Thomas 
Blair  removed  to  the  mountains  and  settled  on  New  river, 
where  he  built  iron  works  and  became  rich.  Thomas 
Kickets  and  Thomas  Eastridi^e  were  indicted  for  treason. 


OR, 


TEE  ffEONGS  OF  A  BEAOTM  GIEL. 

<3:^A  TRUE  STORy.^::S:> 

ENACTED  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  90  YEARS  AGO. 

o:0:o . 

TO  THE  READER. 


The  truth  of  what  the  reader  will  find  aud  the  lesson  to 
be  deduced  from  this  story,  will  commend  it  to  the  favor 
of  all  the  good  people  of  Randolph  county,  and  to  the 
reading  public  generally.  It  is  not  iiction,  but  a  reliable 
narrative  of  facts,  as  gathered/rom  the  gray-haired  fathers 
and  mothers  of  to-day. 

An  account  of  the  present  beautiful  town  of  Naomi 
Falls  is  annexed. 

The  narrative  of  Naomi  Wise  is  published  from  the 
original  history,  by  M.  Penny,  Randleman,  N.  C,  with 
the  song,  as  sung  in  by-gone  days  when  men  stood,  in 
this  country,  heart  to  heart  and  hand  to  hand. 

M.  PENNY. 

October,  1888. 


NSOMI  WISE, 


CHAPTER  I. 

About  ninety  years  ago  there  lived  where  Xew  Salem 
now  is,  in  the  northern  part  of  Randolph  County,  North 
Carolina,  a  very  open  and  Avarm  hearted  gentleman  by 
the  name  ot  William  Adams.  A  few  families  of  nature's 
noblest  quality  lived  in  the  vicnity.  They  were  not  em- 
phatically rich,  but  were  what  our  people  cdWed  good  livers; 
they  were  honest,,  hospitable  and  kind;  they  knew  nei- 
ther the  luxuries  nor  the  vices  of  high  life.  Their  farms 
supplied  enough  for  their  own  tables,  and  surplus  suffi- 
cient for  a  brisk  trade  with  Fayetteville  The  wild  lorest 
hills  and  immense  glades  in  the  neighborhood,  afforded 
bountiful  quantities  ot  game  ;  whilst  beep  River  abound- 
ed with  the  finest  fish.  At  that  tiine  the  inhabitants  wer^ 
by  no  means  so  thickly  settled  as  at  present  ;  trading  as  a 
regular  business  was  unknown,  except  to  a  few  merchants. 
The  people  were  somewhat  rude,  still,  however,  hospita- 
ble and  kind. 

At  William  Adam's  lived  Naomi  Wise.  She  had  early 
been  thrown  upon  the  cold  charity  of  the  world,  and  she 
had  received  the  frozen  crumbs  of  that  charity.  Her  size 
was  medium  ;  her  iigure  beautifully  iornied  ;  her  face 
handsome  and  expressive  ;  her  eye  keen  yet  mild  ;  her 
words  soft  and  winning.  She  was  left  without  lather  to 
protect,  mother  to  counsel,  brothers  and  sisters  to  love,  or 
friends  with  whom  to  associate.  Food,  clothing  and 
shelter  must  be  earned  by  the  labor  of  her  own  hands, 
not  such  labor,  however,  as  females  at  this  day  perform. 
There  was  no  place  for  her  but  the  kitchen  with  the  pros- 
pect of  occasionally  going  into  the  field.  This  the  poor 
orphan  accepted  willingly  ;  she  was  willing  to  labor,  she 
w^as  ashamed  to  beg.  The  thousand  comfortsfthat  par- 
ents can  find  for  their  children  are  never  enjoyed  by  the 
fatherless.  Fanaticism  may  rave  over  the  chains  of  the 
African  ;  the  pity  of  sixtween  States  can  be  pour^  '  ut 
for  the  southenr  negro  '  the  great  meetings  are  hv  to 
move  on  emancipation  ;  but  who  pities  the  orphan  ?  May 
the  Lord  pity  him,  for  man  will  not. 

At  the  time  of  which   we  speak,  neighborhoods  were 
nearly  distinct ;  all  that  lived  in  the  same  vicinity,  gener- 


NAOMI    WISE.  97 

:>l1y  bearing  tlie  same  name.  To  account  for  this,  we  have 
culy  to  reco.lect,  that  most  of  our  settlers  migrated   from 
rennsvlvania    and    Virginiii  ;  and  that  families  generally 
^    came  and  settled  togethcM\     Pliysical  force  being  fre(iuent- 
ly  necessary  for  self  defence,  such  families  made  a  kind  of 
treaty  offensive  and  defensive.     Sometimes,  however,  the 
most  deadly  feuds  l)roke    out   amotig  themselves.     Such 
was  the  case  with  the  Lewis   family^ that  settled  on  San- 
dy Creek,  Old  David  Lewis  probably  came  from  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  at  least,  an  old  gentleman  by  name  of  Buchanan 
told  the  writer  so;   -Buchanan  was  jpersonally  acquainted 
with  the  Lewises.  David  had  a  considerable  family  of  boys, 
all  of  whom  were  noted  for  their  great  size  and  strength. 
This  was  in  every  respect  a  very  peculiar  family,  peculiar 
in  appearance,  in  character,  and  in  destiny.     The  Lewises 
were  tall,  broad,  muscular  and  very  powerful  men.    Li  the 
manner  of  fighting  very  common  at  that  time,  viz  :  to  lay 
aside  all  clothing  but  pantaloons,  and   then  try  for  victory 
by  striking   with  the  fist ;  scratching,  gouging,  aiid  biting, 
a  Lewis  was  not  to  be  vanquished.  "  Thetan'iily  were  the 
lious  of  the  country.     This  character  was  eminently  pug- 
nacious. ^  Nearly  all  of    them    drank    to    intoxication  ; 
aware  of  power,   they  insulted    whom  they  listed  ;  they 
sought  occasions  of  quarrel  as  a  Yankee  does  gold  dust  in 
California.     They   rode  through   plantations  J  killed  tl:ieir 
neighbors'  cattle:  took  fish    fix>m  other  men's  traps  ;  said 
what    they    pleased^    ail    more  for  contention  than  gain. 
Though    the  oppressed  had  the  power,  they  were  afraid 
to  prosecute  them  ;  they    knew  these  human  hydras  had 
no  mercy;  they  dreaded  their  retaliating  vengeatice.  For 
these  men  would  follow  their  children  wliile  at  work,  and 
whip  them  from  one  side  of  the  field  to  the  other.     They 
would   compel    them    to  stand   in  the   yard  during  cold 
rainy  nights,  till   the   little  creatures  were  frozen  beyond 
the  power  of  speech  ;   and  sometimes  their  wives  shared 
RO  bette^   fate.     A  fine  colt  belonging  to  Stephen  Lewis, 
once  did  some  trifling  mischief,  when  the  owner,  enraged, 
shot  it  dead  upon  the    instant.     Anything,  man  or  beast, 
that    dared  to  cross  them,  periled  its  life.     They  neither 
sheltered   themseh^es  under    the    strong  arm  of  law,  nor 
permitted    others    to  do  so ;  they  neither  gave  nor  asked 
mercy.     Yet    these    same    men    were  unfailing  friends, 
when   they    chose   to  protect.     Their  pledge  was  sure  as 
anything    human     could  be ;  if  they  threatened  death  or 


98  NAOMI    WISE. 

torture,  those  threatened  always  thought  it  rirndeiit  to  re- 
tire to  the  very  uttermost  part  ot  the  earth  ;  if  they  vow- 
ed protection,  their  protege  felt  secure.  Some  of  their 
remote  relations  are  still  in  this  country:  they  are  among 
our  most  worth}^  citizens,  but  they  never  tamely  submit 
to  insult.  Some  inquire  how  such  men  as  the  Lewises 
could  ever  intermarry  with  other  families;  who  would 
unite  themselves  to  such  cold  hearted  creatures  ? 

While  such  characters  are  in  some  respects  to  be  ab- 
horred, yet  there  is  about  them  that  has  in  all  ages  been 
attractive.  Ladies  are  accused,  because  they  falHn  love 
with  fops,  of  wanting  common  sense,  and  of  loving  vanity 
rather  than  substance.  The  accusation  is  talse.  Except 
the  love  of  a  Christian  for  his  Lord,  the  love  of  a  woman  is 
the  j)arest  and  truest  thing  on  earth  ;  sweet  as  the  incense 
of  heaven,  soft  as  the  air  of  paradise,  and  confiding  as  the 
lamb;  it  scorns  the  little,  the  vile  and  the  treacherous. 
The  tendrils  of  woman's  affection  despise  the  shrubs  of 
odor  and  beauty  to  entwine  closely  and  eternallj'  around 
high  forest  trees  that  are  exposed  to  howling  storms  and 
the  thunders  of  Jove.  The  trees  may  he  rough  and  crooked, 
but  then  they  are  trees.  Find  a  man  a  great  intel- 
lectual power,  of  iron  will,  of  reckless  daring,  but  of  un- 
shaken lidelitA^  ;  in  such  you  find  a  master  magnet  around 
which  women's  hearts  collect  by  natural  attraction. 
But  how  can  a  pure  and  good  woman  love  a  wicked 
man  !  Nonsense,  thou  puritan  !  Shfe  does  not  love  his 
wickednes>,  but  his  soul.  Did  not  the  Saviour  love  a 
wicked  world,  though  he  died  to  destroy  its  wickedness  ? 
Then  a  woman  will  love  a  wicked  man  better  than  a  good 
one,  will  she  ?  Ko,  she  will  love  a  good  man  much  best, 
other  things  being  equal.  But  you  make  daring  deeds  of 
wuckedness  the  exponents  of  man's  greatness.  I  do  no 
such  thing.  I  make  actions  that  require  power,  energy, 
and  firmness,  test  of  greatness  ;  that  such  actions  should 
be  tainted  with  evil,  is  a  blot  that  mars  tliehi  in  no 
small  degree  ;  but  still  they  are  great  actions,  i.  e.  the 
products  of  powerful  minds,  there  are  certain  philosophers 
in  the  world  that  would  make  all  great  actions  cease  to  l)e 
great,  when  they  ceased  to  be  good  ;  they  would  make 
their  greatness  directly  as  their  goodness.  These  are 
evidently  two  different  qualities,  the  one  measuring  the 
action  perse,  the  other  its  moral  character.  Genuine 
love  is  as  follows  :  woman  loves  the  power  which  is  able 


NAOMI    WISE.  99 

to  support  and  protect,  and  if  that  power  be  good  she  will 
love  it  the  more  :  man  loves  the  gentle,  confiding  one 
that  leans  upon  him  with  contidence  and  trusts  him  with 
her  destiny  ;  if  she  be  good,  he  will  love  her  the  more. 
This  may  be  grossly  misconstrued  ;  but /00/5  will  not  see, 
and  the  w'ise  can  see  our  meaning,  it  is  therefore  pi  liu 
enough. 

We  will  hazard  an  axiom  or  two  while  on  this  point.  jS'o 
v\'oman  will  or  can  really  love  a  man  who  is  intellectually 
her  inferior.  No  man  can  love  a  woman  that  has  not 
contidence  in  his  iidelity  and  protection.  If  a  powerful 
man  be  true  to  his  wife,  she  being  what  she  should,  she 
will  love  him  though  he  stain  his  hands  in  blood,  and  be 
iTuiltv  of  the  foulest  deeds  known  in  thecatalosjue  of  crime. 
J3utthis  is  an  unpardonable  digression,  let  us  return. 

But  i'^i'^^  ot  the  Lewises  died  natural  deaths.  Stephen 
Lewis  was  most  unmerciful  to  his  wife.  He  frequently 
whipped  her  with  hobblerods,  and  otherwise  abused  her 
beyond  endurance.  Finally  by  aid  of  Richard,  a  brother  of 
Stepheji's  she  escaped  from  home  and  spent  several  months 
at  an  acquaintance's.  Richard  at  length  told  Stephen  that 
his  wife  would  return  if  he  would  promise  never  more  to 
abuse  her.  This  he  promised  upon  the  w^ord  ot  a  Lewis. 
He  therefore  told  him  to  come  to  his  house  on  a  certain 
day,  and  he  would  find  her.  At  the  time  appointed 
Stephen  went,  found  his  wnfe,  and  took  her  on  his  horse 
to  convey  her  home.  On  the  way,  he  made  her  tell  the 
means  of  i-cr  escape  and  the  agents  employed.  The  agent, 
as  we  have  said,  was  his  brother  Richard.  Stephen  w^ent 
home ;  kindly  told  his  wife  that  he  should  henceforth  treat 
her  very  kindly,  but  that  he  intended  to  shoot  the  scoun- 
drel, Richard.  Loading  his  gun,  he  immediately  return- 
ed to  his  brother's.  Richard  happening  to  observe  his  ap- 
proach and  conjecturing  the  object,  fled  up  stairs  with  his 
o^nn.  Stephen  entered  the  house  and  enquired  for  Richard. 
Not  learning  from  the  family,  and  supposing  him  up  stairs, 
he  started  up,  and  as  his  head  came  in  view,  Richard  shot 
him,  but  did  not  kill  him.  Stephen  w^as  carried  home 
and  for  a  long  time  was  unable  even  to  sit  up,  still  swear- 
ing, however,  that  when  he  recovered  he  would  shoot 
Richard.  His  brother  knowing  the  threat  would  be  exe- 
cuted, w^entto  the  house  one  day,  and  while  St^^phen  was 
sitting  on  the  bedside,  having  his  w^ounds  dressed,  through 
a  crack  of  the  house  Richard  shot  him  through  the  heart. 


100  NAOMI    WISE. 

It  is  said  that  the  manner  of  men's  deaths  frequently  re- 
sembles their  lives.  The  fate  of  the  Lewises  seems  to 
confirm  the  fact.  They  were  heartless  tyrants  while  they 
lived,  and  as  tyrants  deserve,  they  died  cruel  and  bloody 
deaths. 


CHAPTER  IL 


Like  a  lovely  tyro 


She  grew  to  womanhood,  and  between  whiles 
Rejected  several  suiters,  just  to  learn 
How  to  accept  a  worse  one  in  his  turn. 

—  Br  yon. 

Naomi  Wise  w^as  a  lovely  girl,  just  blooming  in  all   the 
attractiveness  of  nineteen.     Though  serving  as  cook  and 
sometimes  as  out-door  hand,  she  w^as  the  light  of  tlie  fam- 
ily, and  was  trea-ed  better  than  such  persons  usually   are. 
She  was  neatly  dressed,  rode  to  church  on  a  fine  horse  and 
was  the  occasion  of  many  youngsters  visiting  the   house 
of  Mr  Adams.     Among  those  who   frequently  found   it 
convenient  io  call  at  Mr.    Adams'  was  Jonathan  Lewis. 
His  father,  Richard  Lewis,  the  same   that  shot   Stephen, 
lived  near  Centre  meeting-house,  on   Polecat   creek,   in 
Gailford  county.     Jonathan  wa^  clerking  for   Benjamin 
ElUott,at  Asheboro,  in  Randolph  and  in  passing  tromCen- 
tre  to  Asheboro,  it  w^as  directly  in  his  way  to  pass  through 
]Slew  Salem.     Jonathan  like  the  others  of  the  same  name, 
was  a  large,  w^ell  built,  dignified  looking    man.     He  was 
young,  daring  and  impetnous.     If  he   had  lived  in    Scot- 
land he  W()uld  have   been   a  worthy   companion    for  Sir 
William  Wallace  or  Robert  Bruce;  in  England  he  would 
have  vied  with  the  Black  Prince  in  coolness  and   braver}' ; 
in  France  he  might  have  stood  by  the  side  of  McDonald, 
in  the  central  charge  at  Wagram  ;  in  our  own  revolution 
his  bravery  and  powder  would,  perhaps,  have  saved   the 
day  at  brand}' wine.     He  was  composed  of  the  fiercest   el- 
ements; his  wTath  w^as  like  wdiirlwinds  and  scathing  light- 
ning ;  his  smile    like  sunbeams  bursting  through  a  cloud, 
illumined  every  countenance  upon  which  it  fell.     He  nev- 
er indulged  in  tricks  or  small    sport,  the    ordinary   pass- 
times  of  youth  had  no  attraction  for  him.       The   smallest 
observation  would  teach  us,  that  such  men  are   capable  of 


NAOMI    WISE.  101 

/anything;  once  engaged  they  are  champions  in  the  cause 
of  hnmanity  ;  but  once  let  loose,  like  unchained  lions,  they 
tear  to  pieces  both  friends  and  foes.  The  greatest  men 
are  capable  of  being  the  greatest  scourges.  Liconidas  was 
a  rock  upon  which  Persia  broke,  but  some  provocation 
might  have  made  him  a  rock  by  which  Greece  would 
have  been  ground  to  powder.  Dirk  Ilatteraik  was  a  dar- 
ing smuggler,  that  in  a  low,  black  lugger,  detied  the  pow- 
er of  England  ;  if  the  government  had  treated  this  man 
wisely,  he  might  have  been  an  admiral  to  eclipse  Nelson. 
Our  daring,  headstrong  boys  are  generally  given  over  as 
worthless  ;  and  here  is  the  mistake ;  the  world  neither  uti- 
derstands  the  mission  nor  management  ot  such  powerful 
minds.  Bucephalus  was  pronounced  a  worthless  animal 
by  the  whole  court  of  Philip.  Alexander  alone  perceived 
liis  value  and  knew  how  to  mana2:e  him  ;  and  in  fact, 
Bucephalus  was  the  greatest  horse  the  world  ever  saw\ 

Jonathan  Lewis  saw  Naomi  wise  and  loved  her.  She 
was  the  gentle,  confiding,  unprotected  creature  tbat  a 
man  like  Lewis,  would  love  by  instinct.  Henceforward 
he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Adams'.  The  dark  clouds 
that  had  so  long  hovered  over  the  orphan  were  breaking 
away  ;  the  misty,  dim  vista  of  the  future  opened  with 
clear  light  and  boundless  prospects  of  good;  the  fogs  roll- 
ed aw^ay  from  the  valley  of  life,  and  Naomi  saw  a  pretty 
pathway  bordered  with  Howers,  and  crossed  only  by  little 
rills  of  purest  water.  Her  young  and  guileless  heart 
beat  with  new  and  higher  life;  that  she  was  loved  by  a 
man  so  powerful  as  Lewis,  was  sufficient  recompence  for  a 
cheerless  childhood.  Day  and  night  she  labored  to  pro- 
cure the  indispensables  of  housekeeping  ;  for  in  those  days 
it  was  esteemed  disreputable  if  a  girl  by  the  time  she  was 
twenty,  had  not  made  or  earned  for  herself  a  bed,  some 
chairs,  pots,  tubs,  &c.  And  a  young  lady  then  modestly 
displayed  her  things  to  her  lover,  with  as  much  care  as 
modern  misses  display  their  painting,  needle-work,  and 
acquirements  on  the  piano.  Instead  of  going  to  the  piano, 
to  the  dance  and  other  such  latter  day  inventions,  young- 
sters then  went  with  the  ladies  to  milk  the  cows,  and  dis- 
play  their  gallantry  by  holding  away  the  calves  while  the 
operation  -was  performed  ;  they  then  accompanied  [the 
damsels  to  the  spring  to  put  away  the  milk,  and  brought 
back  a  pail  of  water. 

Time  ilew  on,  Lewis  still  continued  as   clerk,  and   had 


102  NAOMI   WISE. 

won  the  good  opinion  of  liis  employer.  Naomi  was 
T^looming  in  all  the  charms  of  early  womanhood;  iier  love 
for  Lewis  was  pure  and  ardent ;  and  tlie  rumor  was  abroad 
tiiat  a  marriage  was  shortly  to  take  place.  But  an  evil 
genius  crossed  the  path  ot  Lewis  in  the  shape  of  his  moth- 
er. Her  ambition  and  avarice  projected  for  her  son  a 
match  of  different  character.  She  deemed  it  in  tlie  range 
ot  possibility  that  Jonathan  might  o)>tain  the  hand  of 
Ilettie  Elliott,  the  sister  ot  Benjamin  Elliott,  his  employ- 
er. That  mothers  are  ambitious  everybody  knows,  and  that 
they  are  the  worst  of  matchmakers  is  equally  well  known. 
But  Mrs.  Lewis  thought  Miss  Ellioi.t  a  prize  worthy  an 
ettort  at  letist.  The  Elliott  w^ere  wealthy,  honorable  and 
in  high  repute.  They  have  always  stood  high  in  this 
county,  and  citizens  have  delighted  to  honor  them  with 
public  favor  and  private  friendship.  Mr.  B.  Elliott, 
Hettie's  brother,  evidently  prized  Lewis  highly ;  he  re- 
garded him  as  an  honorable,  intelligent  and  industrious 
young  gentleman,  and  no  doubt  thought  him  a  respectab  e 
match  for  his  sister.  Lewis  made  some  advances  to 
Ilettie,  which  were  received  in  such  a  way  as  to  insp  re 
hope.  This  was  the  turning  tide  in  the  fortunes  of  Lewis. 
The  smile  of  one  superior  to  Naomi  Wise  in  every  re- 
spect, except  beauty  and  goodness;  the  earnest  exhorta- 
tions of  an  influential  mother;  and  the  prospect  of  con- 
siderable property,  bore  down  all  obstacles.  The  pure 
love  to  Miss  Wise,  the  native  and  genuine  passion  of  his 
own  heart,  were  not  equal  to  a  contfict  with  pride  and  av- 
arice. Not  but  that  Lewis,  as  any  other  man  could  and 
would  love  Miss  Elliott.  She  was  accomplished,  beauti- 
ful, and  of  charming  manners  ;  an  Elliott  could  not  be 
otherwise.  But  these  were  not  the  attractions  that  won 
Lewis.  Money,  family  connection,  name  and  station, 
w^ere  the  intiuences  that  clouded  the  fair  prospects  of  in- 
nocence, opened  the  flood  gates  of  evil,  and  involved  all 
the  parties  concerned  in  ruin. 

Tupper  has  wisely  said  that  nothing  in  this  world  is 
single,  all  things  are  in  pairs;  and  the  perfection  of  earth- 
ly existence  consists  in  properly  pairing  all  the  separate 
elements.  Two  elements  properly  adapted  have  a  nat- 
ural attraction,  and  firmly  adhere  amid  all  circumstances 
of  prosperity  or  disaster;  but  two  elements  improperly 
mated  repel  each  other  with  natural  and  undying  repul- 
sion in  spite  ot  circumstances  or  calculations.     The  young 


NAOMI-  AVISE.  103 

instinctively  and  naturally  love  those  that  would  make 
them  happy;  but  pride,  family  interference  andcoldhearted 
calculations  otten  interpose;  sordid  consideratijns  tear 
asunder  the  holiest  chords  of  affection,  and  vainly  attempt 
to  thwart  nature's  own  promptings.  Lewis  loVed  Miss 
Wise  for  herself;  no  seltish  motive  moved  his  heart  or 
tongue  ;  this  would  have  been  a  union  of  peace  and  joy ; 
he  wished  to  marry  Miss  ElHott,  not  because  beloved  her, 
but  influenced  wholly  by  other  and  base  considerations. 

An  old  adage  fcays,  "the  better  anything  is  in  its  ligiti- 
mate  sphere,  the  worse  it  is  when  otijerwise  employed." 
Lewis  no  doubt  would  have  been  an  honorable  and  useful 
man,  if  he  had  married  I^aomi;  he  would  then  have  been 
using  the  highest  and  strongest  principle  ot  human  nature 
in  a  proper  manner.  In  an  evil  hour  he  listened  to  the 
tempter,  he  turned  aside  from  the  ways  of  honor  and 
truth.  His  eyes  became  blinded,  conscience,  the  star  of 
human  destiny,  lost  her  polarity,  and  the  fierce  storms 
drove  his  proud  ship  into  the  maelstrom  of  ruin.  Jona- 
than Lewis  was  no  more  the  proud,  manly  gentleman;  he 
was  henceforth  a  hard  hearted,  merciless  wretch.  He 
was  a  hyena  skulking  about  the  pathway  of  life,  ready 
alike  to  kill  the  living,  and  to  tear  the  dead  from  their 
graves.  He  not  only  resolved  to  forsake  a  lovely  damsel, 
but  lirst  to  ruin  her  fair  name.  His  resolve  was  accom- 
plished. He  might  have  foreseen  that  this  would  ruin  his 
prospects  with  the  beautiful  Miss  Elliott;  but  the  "wicked 
are  blind  and  fall  into  the  pit  their  own  hands  have  dig- 
ged.'*' There  are  many  young  men  now  moving  in  high 
society,  that  think  violets  were  created  to  be  crushed  by 
haughty  boot  heels ;  that  desert  flowers  should  rathel'  be 
blasted  than  waste  their  sweetness  on  the  air;  that  pearls 
should  rather  adorn  a  Cyclops,  than  sparkle  in  their  na- 
tive deep.  Not  so,  ye  canibals.  If  names  must  be  blas- 
ted and  characters  ruined,  in  the  name  of  heaven,  let 
your  victims  come  from  among  the  affluent  and  the  hon- 
orable. Who  will  |)ity  and  protect  the  poor  daughter  of 
shame;  who  will  give  her  a  crumb  ot  bread?  The  more 
wealthy  victim  might,  at  least  have  bread  to  eat,  water  to 
drink  and  wherewithall  to  be  clothed.  Ye  fair,  blooming 
daughters  of  povert3%  shun  the  advances  of  those  who 
avoid  you  in  company,  as  you  would  shun  the  grim  mon- 
ster death. 

Lewis,  aware  that  a  period  was  approaching  that  would 


104  NAOMI^  WISE. 

mar  all  bis  hopes,  unless  they  should  i  mm  eel  lately  be  con- 
summated, urged  his  suit  w.th  all  possible  haste.  Miss 
Elliott,  however,  baffled  him  on  every  tack,  and,  thopgh 
she  encouraged  him,  gave  him  but  little  hope  of  succeeding 
immediately.  In  the  meanwhile,  Naomi  urged  the  fuliil- 
ment  of  his  promise,  that  he  would  marry  her  forthwith, 
seconded  by  the  power  of  tears  and  prayers.  When  the^^e 
means  seemed  unavailing,  she  threatened  him  with  the  law. 
Lewis  alarmed  at  this,  charged  her,  at  peril  of  life,  to  re- 
main silent;  he  told  her  that  their  marriage  was  sure,  but 
that  very  peculiar  circumstances  required  all  to  be  kept 
silent.  But  before  he  could  bring  matters  to  an  issue 
Avith  Miss  Elliott,  rumor  whispered  abroad  the  engage- 
ment and  disgrace  of  INaomi  Wise.  This  runior  tell  iTke 
thunder  upon  Lewis;  the  depths  of  a  dark  but  powerful 
soul  were  awaKened,  his  hopes  were  quivering  upon  a  bal- 
ance wdiich  the  next  breath  threatened  with  ruin.  With 
a  coolness  and  steadiness  which  innocence  is  wont  to  wear, 
Lewis  afHrmedto  Miss  Elliott  that  said  rumor  was  a  base, 
malicious  slander,  circulated  by  the  enemies  of  the  Lewis 
family,  to  ruin  his  character,  and  offered  that  time,  a  very 
fair  arbiter,  should  decide  upon  the  report,  and  if  ad- 
judged guilty,  he  would  relinquish  all  claim  to  her,  Miss 
Elliott's  hand.  For  several  diiys  Lewis  was  apparently 
uneasy,  appeared  abstracted,  neglected  his  business,  and 
was  not  a  little  ill-  Mr.  Elliott  assigned  one  cause,  Miss 
Elliott  another,  but  the  true  one  was  unknown  to  any  one. 
The  kingdom  was  in  conmiotion,  dark  deeds  were  in  con- 
templation, and  at  length  the  die  was  cast.  Mrs.  Adams 
Lad  frequently  of  late  told  Naomi,  that  Lewis  did  not  in- 
tencito  njarry  her,  that  he  was  playing  a  game  of  villiany, 
and  that  she  should  place  no  further  confidence  in  any  of 
his  assertions:  but  the  poor  girl  thought  or  hoped  differ- 
ently ;  she  could  not  and  would  not  believe  that  Jonathan 
Lewis  was  untrue.  Woman's  love  cannot  doubt.  Lewis  at 
length  came  to  see  Miss  Wise,  and  told  her  that  he  wnshed 
not  to  delay  the  marriage  any  longer:  that  he  had  made 
all  necessary  arrangements,  and  that  he  would  come  and 
take  her  to  the  house  of  a  magistrate  on'  a  certain  day. 
She  urged  the  propriety  of  the  marriage  taking  place  at 
the  hou-e  of  Mr.  Adams;  but  he  refused  and  she  without 
much  reluctance  consented  to  his  wishes.  Time  sped  on, 
the  last  morn  rolled  up  the  eastern  vault  in  his  chariot, 
dispensing  light  and  joy  to  millions;  Naomi  walked  forth 


NAOMI    WISE.  105 

with  Uglit  heart  and  Step,  thinking  only  of  her  coming 
nuptials.  During  the  day  in  the  nndst  of  her  anticipations, 
gloomy  forebodings  would  disturb  her.  Like  the  liglit 
breeze  preceding  the  storm,  they  seemed  to  come  and 
go  without  cause.     So  true  is  it; 

"That  coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before."  She 
told  nothing  of  what  was  about  to  take  place  to  Mr. 
Adams;  but  at  the  appointed  time  taking  the  water  pail 
in  her  hand,  she  Went  to  the  spring,  the  place  at  which 
she  had  agreed  to  meet  Lewis.  He  soon  appeared  and 
took  her  behind  him.  It  is  said,  that  the  stump  off  which 
Xaomi  mounted,  remains  to  this  day,  and  may  be  seen  by 
any  one  who  will  visit  New  Salem, 

The  last  lone  relic  of  Xaomi's  love, 

A  s[.>eaking  monument  of  a  wretch's  heart; 

Like  love,  its  grasp  time  scarce  can  move, 

Like  treachery,  corruption  lurks  in  every  part. 

The  strong  steed  bore  Xaomi  rapid/y  from  the  home  of 
her  chihliiood  and  youth;  from  the  kind  Mrs.  Adams 
that  was  wont  to  soothe  in  every  trouble. 


CHAPTER  IH. 

Xaomi  very  soon  perceived  that  they  were  not  ap- 
proaching the  magistrate,  by  whose  mystic  knot  sorrow 
was  to  be  killed  and  joy  born  ;  but  to  her  great  surprise, 
Lewis  kept  the  direct  road  to  the  river,  speaking  to  her 
in  the  mean  time  with  rather  a  strange  voice  and  an  in- 
coherant  manner.  She  tried  to  imagine  his  object,  but 
she  was  convinced  that  he  w^ould  not  take  her  to  Ashebo- 
ro,  and  she  knew  of  no  magistrate  in  that  direction  ;  ev- 
ery etibrt  therefore  failed  to  give  her  troubled  mind  any 
peace.  Slackening  his  pace  to  a  slow  walk,  Lewis  and 
N'aomi  held  the  following  conversation. 

''Naomi,  which  do  you  think  is  easiest,  a  slow  or  sud- 
den death  ?" 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  but  what  makes  you  ask  me 
that  question  ?" 

"  Why,  I  was  just  thinking  about  it.  But  which  would 
3^ou  prefer,  if  you  could  have  choice  ?" 

"I  would  try    to  be  resigned  to    whatever    Providence 


106  KAOMI    WISE- 

might  appoint,  and  since  we  cannot  have  a  choice,  it  is  use- 
less to  have  any  preferences." 

*'Well,  Xaomi,  do  you  think  you  would  like  to  know 
the  time  when  you  are  to  die?" 

''Why,  Jonathan,  what  do  you  m^ean  hy  such  questions  ? 
I  have  never  thought  of  such  matters  ^  and  I  am  sure,  I 
never   knew  you   to  be  mentioning  such  things  betore." 

Lewis  rode  on  for  some  time  tvithout  making anj'  reply  ; 
seeming  in  a  deep  revery  ;  but  in  fact  in  the  most  intense 
excitement ;  at  length  he  remarked  : 

''Well,  Naomi,  I  beHeve  I  know  both  the  time  and 
manner  of  your  death,  and  I  think  it  is  in  my  power  ta 
gi  ve  y  ou  a  ch  o i  ce. " 

This  ran  through  the  poor  girl  like  a  dart  of  death  ;  it 
was  some  minutes  before  she  could  make  any  reply. 

'•For  the  Lord^s  sake,  Jonathan,  what  do  you  mean  ; 
do  you  intend  to  kill  me,  or  why  do  you  talk  so  ? 

"I  will  nev^er  harm  you;  we  shall  be  married  in  two 
hours.  As  you  see,  I  am  not  going  to as  I  iirst  in- 
tended, bat  am  going  across  the  river,  where  we  shall 
have  a  nice  wedding." 

"Jonathan,  I'm  afraid  every  thing  is  not  right,  and  I 
feel  so  had  this  evening,  I  hacl  rather  go  home  and  put  it 
off  till  another  day." 

•'No,  no,  that  will  not  do.  I  tell  you  again,  you  need 
not  fear  anything.  Just  be  perfectly  contented,  and  fear 
no  harm  from  him  that  loves  you  better  than  himself." 

They  w^ere  now  on  a  high  bluff  that  commanded  an  ex- 
tensive view  of  the  river  and  the  country  beyond.  The 
bold,  rocky  channel  of  the  stream  was  distinctly  visible 
for  a  great  distance  to  the  southeast;  whilst  from  the  north- 
west came  the  river,  now  swollen  by  recent  rains,  roaring 
and  tumbling  over  rocky  ledges,  and  then  moving  calmly 
away.  A  blue  crane  was  flying  slowly  above  the  bed  of 
the  stream,  whilst  amid  the  dwart  pines  and  cedais  that 
grew  upon  the  crags,  many  ravens  were  cawing  and 
screaming.  This  scenery,  heightened  by  the  dusk  of 
evening,  strongly  impressed  Naomi's  mind.  She  remark- 
ed to  Lewis: 

"I  am  almost  afraid  to  be  in  this  lonely  place;  I  wish 
^ve  were  away.  O!  how  happy  I  should  be,  if  we  liad  a 
(juiet  home  like  yon  from  which  that  smoke  is  rising 
away  over  the  hills.  It  may  he  foolishness,  Jonathan, 
but  I  want  you  to  be  careful  in  going  down  these  banks 


NAOMI    WISE.  107 

and  crossing  the  river.  I  have  so  often  feared  something 
would  happen  to  prevent  the  happiness  we  expect;  and  I 
ix\\i  sure  I  never  telt  so  bad  in  iwy  life." 

Lewis  reined  up  his  horse,  stopped  for  a  short  time, 
then  started  forward,  muttering,  "I  will  though;  I  am  a 
<'Oward."  Miss  Wise  asked  him  what  he  was  saying;  he 
■replied  that  he  only  meant  that  they  should  be  married 
that  nigiit.  The  river  was  here  toleral)]y  wide  and  below 
the  ford  some  little  turf-islands  covered  with  alders  and 
willows,  made  several  sluices.  Lewis  rushed  his  horse  in 
the  water,  which  came  up  to  his  sides,  and  plunged  for- 
ward rapidly  till  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  chaiinel, 
then  stopping  his  beast  and  turning  himself  in  the  sad- 
dle, he  said  to  Naomi  in  a  husky  voice:  "Xaomi,  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  intend  to  do;  I  intend  to  drown  you  in 
this  river :  we  can  never  marry.  I  found  I  could  never 
tret  away  from  you,  and  I  am  determined  to  drown  you.'' 

•'0!  J(mathan,  Jonathan,"  screamed  the  victim,  "you 
do  not,  cannot  mean  what  you  say;  do  not  terrify  me  so 
much  and  make  haste  out  of  here." 

"I  mean,"  said  Lewis,  just  what  I  say;  jou.  will  never 
go  from  here  alive.  You  cannot  move  me  by  w^ords  or 
tears;  my  mind  is  fixed;  I  swear  by  all  that's  good  or  bad, 
that  you  have  not  live  minutes  to  live.  You  have  enticed 
me  to  injure  my  character,  yon  have  made  me  neglect  my 
l)usiness.  You  ought  never  to  have  been  such  a  fool  as 
to  expect  that  I  would  marry  such  a  girl  as  you  are.  You 
did  not  expect  that  I  was  taking  you  off  to  marry  you, 
when  you  got  up  behind  me;  you  no  doubt  thought  I 
would  take  you  to  Asheboro,  and  keep  j^ou  there  as  a  base 
.     Prepare  to  die." 

"My  Lord,  wdiat  shall  I  do?"  said  Naomi,  "You  know  I 
have  loved  you  with  my  w^hole  soul;  I  have  trusted  you, 
and  when  you  betrayed  me,  I  never  reviled  you.  How 
often  did  I  tell  you  that  you  did  not  intend  to  marry  mel 
how  many  times  did  I  beseech  you  to  be  honest  w*ith  mel 
And  after  all.  you  certainly  will  not  drown  me.  0,  Jona- 
than, for  heaven's  sake  take  me  out  of  this  river!  Do,  0, 
do.  O,  spare  my  life!  I  will  never  ask  you  to  marry  me, 
I  will  leave  the  country,  I  will  never  mention  your  name 

again,  and'" 

"  Lewis  stopped  short  her  entreaties  by  grasping  he  • 
throat  with  his  left  hand;  her  struggles  immediately  threw 
them  both  from  the  horse.     Being  ^a  tall,  strong  man,  he 


108  j:aomi  wise. 

Iield  her  above  the  water  antil  he  tied  her  dress  above 
her  head,  and  then  lield  her  under  beneatli  his  toot  until 
he  was  alarmed  by  a  glare  of  torches  approaching  along 
the  road  he  had  just  corae.  He  mounted  his  horse  and 
dashed  out  of  the  river  on  the  south  side. 

Mrs  Davis  lived  at  no  great  distance  from  the  river,  and 
had  heard  the  death  screaming  of  poor  jS'aomi.  She  had 
heard  the  startling  cry  as  the  vidian  caught  her  by  the 
throat  ;  then  she  heard  the  wnld  wail  when  she  arose  from 
the  water,  and  lastly  the  stilled  sobs  as  she  was  muitled  in 
her  dress.  The  old  lady  called  her  boys  and  bid  them 
hasten  to  the  ford,  that  somebody  was  murdered  or 
drowned  ;  but  they  were  afraid  to  go,  they  hesitated  and 
parlied  ;  at  last  they  set  out  with  glaring  torches,  but  it 
was  too  late.  They  arrived  only  in  time  to  hear  the  mur- 
derer leaving  the  opposite  bank.  They  neither  saw  nor 
heard  Xaomi.  She  was  already  dead,  her  last  scream 
had  died  away,  her  last  gasping  groan  had  arisen  through 
the  rippling  waters,  and  her  body  was  floating  amid  the 
wallows  of  a  turf-island.  A  pure  and  beautiful  damsel, 
she  attracted  the  admiration  of  a  cold-hearted  world  with- 
out gaining  its  respect  ;  her  pathway  had  been  waylaid  by 
those  who  thought  poor,  unprotected  beauty  bloomed  on- 
ly to  be  blasted.  Her  pure  and  ardent  aliections  having 
never  enjoyed  the  sunshine  of  love  w^ere  ready  to  grasp  the 
iirst  support  that  offered.  She  had  given  her  heart  to  a  de- 
ceiver ;  she  had  trusted  her  life  to  a  destroyer,  and  the 
murmuring  waves  that  now  bathed  her  lifeless  form,  and 
rocked  her  on  th.eir  cold  bosom,  were  the  only  agents 
perhaps,  that  had  ever  acted  towards  her  without  selfish- 
ness. 

Early  on  the  next  morning  the  people  of  her  home  were 
searching  in  all  directions  for  Naomi  Mrs.  Adams  had 
passed  a  sleepless  night ;  a  strange  impression  had  in- 
stantly fixed  itself  upon  her  mind  as  soon  as  Naomi  was 
missed;  and  in  her  broken  slumbers  during  the  night, 
she  w^as  aroused  by  sometimes  imagining  that  Naomi  call- 
ed her,  at  other  times  by  dreaming  that  she  saw  her  dead, 
and  again  by  thinking  she  heard  her  screaming.  At  ear- 
ly dawn  she  aroused  the  vicinity,  and  going  to  the  spring, 
the  tracks  of  a  horse  were  readily  discovered  and  by  the 
sign  it  was  evident  that  Naomi  liad  mounted  from  the 
stump.  The  company  followed  the  track  until  Mrs  Da- 
vis and  her  boys   were  met  coming   in  haste  to  tell  the 


NAOMI    AVISE.  109 

circinnstances  of  the  preceding  evening.  The  old  lady 
told  the  crowd  of  the  screaming  she  hail  heard;  that  the 
boys  had  gone  down  with  the  lights  and  heard  a  horse- 
man galloping  from  the  opposite  hank. 

"Ah  !"  said  the  old  lady,  "murder's  heen  done,  sicli 
unyearthly  screams  can't  come  of  nothing  ;  they  made 
the  hair  rise  on  my  head,  and  the  very  blood  curdle  in 
my  heart.  No  doubt  poor  Naomi's  been  drowned.  O  ! 
ef  I  had  been  young  as  I  once  was,  Iw^ould  a  run  down 
there  and  killed  the  rascal  afore  he  could  a  got  away  ! 
What  is  the  world  a  coming  to  ?" 

The  company  hastened  to  the  river,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments discovered  the  body  still  muffled  in  the  clothing. 
She  was  quickly  borne  to  the  shore  and  laid  upon  a  rock  ; 
upon  the  fair  neck  of  the  dead  were  still  to  be  seen  the 
marks  of  the  ruffian's  fingers.  The  Coroner  was  sent  for, 
the  jury  summoned,  and  the  verdict  pronounced,  "Drown- 
ed by  violence."  Some  one  of  the  vast  crowd  now  as- 
sembled, suggested  that  Lewis  should  be  sought  and 
]>rought  to  the  corpse  ere  it  was  interred.  This  was  as- 
sented to  by  acclamation,  but  who  would. do  it?  Who 
would  dare  to  apprehend  a  Lewis  ?  A  firm,  brave  officer 
of  Kandolph  accepted  the  task,  and  having  selected  his 
company  from  the  numerous  candidates,  for  every  youth 
on  the  ground  offered,  proceeded  to  Asheboro."^ 

So  soon  as  Lewis  saw  the  lights  coming  while  he  was 
at  his  work  of  death,  as  above  said,  he  dashexl  out  of  the 
rirer,  having  no  doubt  that  the  water  \\ould  bear  the  body 
into  the  deep  pools  below  the  ford,  and  render  discovery 
impossible.  We  have  seen  that  in  this  lie  was  disap- 
pointed. Leaving  the  river,  he  rode  rapidly  around  to 
another  ford,  and  hastened  to  his  father's  near  Centre 
meeting  house.  He  dashed  into  the  room  where  his 
mothei-'  was  sitting,  and  asked  for  a  change  of  clothes. 
The  old  lady  alarmed,  asked  him  why  he  came  at  that  time 
of  week  (for  he  usually  came  on  Sunday),  why  he  was  wet, 
and  why  he  looked*^  so  pale  and  spoke  in  such  a  strange 
voice.  He  replied  that  he  had  started  home  on  some 
business,  and  that  his  horse  had  fallen  with  him  in  the 
river,  and  that  his  wet  clothes  made  him  look  pale  and 
altered  in  his  voice.  His  mother  had  too  much  sagacity 
to  believe  such  a  tale,  but  she  could  obtain  from  him  no 
other  explanation.  Having  procured  a  change  of  appar- 
el, he  departed  and  arrived  "at  Asheboro  early  next  morji- 


110  NAOMI    WISE. 

ing.  Riding  up  to  Col.  Craven's  he  called  at  the  door  : 
Mrs.  Craven  answered  the  call,  and  exclaimed  in  aston- 
ishnierrt  : 

'•What's  the  matter,  Lewis,  what  have  you  been  doing, 
have  you  killed  'Omi  Wise? 

Lewis  was  stunned  ;  raising  his  hand  and  rubbing  his 
eyes,  he  said  : 

"Why  what  makes  you  ask  me  that  question  ?" 

"]^o  particular  reason,"  said  Mrs.  Craven,  "only  you 
look  so  pale  and  Avild  ;  you  don't  h)ok  at  all  like  your- 
self this  morning." 

Lewis  made  no  reply,  but  the  flushed  countenance 
w^hich  he  exhibited,  would  have  attbrded  no  small  evi- 
dence to  a  close  observer,  that  something  w^as  wrong.  80 
true  is  it,  "That  the  wicked  iiee  when  no  man  pursueth." 
Leaving  Asheboro,  Lewis  went  to  a  sale  at  a  Mr.  Han- 
cock's at  a  place  now  owned  by  Thomas  Cox.  During 
the  day  it  was  remarked  by  many  that  Jonathan  Lewis 
had  a  cast  countenance  by  no  means  usual.  Instead 
of  that  bold,  daring  independence  that  was  usual  to  him, 
he  seemed  reserved,  downcast  and  restless.  By  indulg- 
ing freely  in  drink,  which  was  always  to  be  had  on  such 
occasions  he  became  more  like  himself  toward  evening ; 
and  even  ventured  to  mingle  with  the  ladies.  For  it 
should  be  observed,  that  in  those  days^,  the  ladies  attended 
vendues,  elections,  musters,  &c,,  without  derogation  to 
their  characters.  And  in  very  many  places,  a  young 
man  showed  his  'gallantry  by  collecting  the  fair  ones 
whom  he  would  honor  and  conductincrthem  to  some  wa^^on, 
where  his  liberality  was  displayed  by  purchasing  cakes, 
cider,  &c.  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  this  custom  was 
contined  to  the  low  or  vulgar,  for  the  practice  was  well 
nigh  universal  Our  lady  readers  must  not  think  it  be- 
neath their  dignity  to  read  of  such  characters,  for  our 
mothers,  and  perhaps  their's  also,  have  received  such 
treats.  Lewis  on  the  occasion  above  named,  seemed  par- 
ticular attracted  by  Martha,  the  daughter  ot  Stephen  Huz- 
za. After  waiting  upon  her  according  to  the  manner  of 
the  times  Lewis  accompanied  her  home.  The  manner  of 
courting  at  that  day,  was  very  diflerent  from  what  nov/ 
prevails  ;  the  (;ustom  then  was,  for  the  young  people  to 
remain  in  the  room  after  the  old  people  retired,  then  seat 
themselves  beside  each  other,  and  there  remain  until  1*2 
or  1  o'clock.     Lewis   had  taken  his  seat  and  drawn  Mar- 


NAOMI    WISE.  Ill 

tha  into  his  lap  ;  rather  a  rude  move  even  at  that  time, 
and  not  a  little  contrary  to  Martha's  will — when  a  gentle 
rap  was  heard  at  the  door.  While  the  inmates  were  lis- 
tening to  hear  it  repeated,  the  door  opened,  and  Kohert 
Miirdock,  the  hrave  officer  who  had  pursued  Lewis,  en- 
tered, attended  by  a  retinue  that  at  once  overawed  the  un- 
armed murderer.  He  suftered  himself  to  be  quietly  ar- 
rested and  taken  back  to  the  river  bank  where  his  vic- 
tim still  remained.  He  put  his  hand  upon  her  face,  and 
smoothed  her  liair,  apparently  unmoved.  So  greatly  w^as 
the  crowd,  incensed  at  this  hard  hearted  audacity,  that  the 
authority  of  the  officer  was  scarcely  sufficient  to  prevent 
the  villian's  being  killed  upon  the  spot.  The  evidence 
against  Lewis,  though  circumstantial,  was  deemed  con- 
clusive. The  foot-prints  from  the  stump  to  the  river  ex- 
actly fitted  his  horse;  hairs  upon  the  skirt  on  w^hich  she 
rode,  wxre  found  to  fit  in  color;  a  small  piece  torn  from 
Lewis'  accoutrement,  fitted  both  rent  and  texture  ;  his 
absence  from  Asheboro,'  and  many  other  minuter  cir- 
cumstances all  conspired  to  the  same  point.  Li  proper 
form  he  was  committed  to  jail  in  Asheboro,'  to  aw^ait  his 
trial.  A  vast  company  on  the  next  day  attended  the  re- 
mains of  Naomi  to  the  grave.  The  wliole  community 
mourned  her  untimely  death;  the  aged  wiped  the  falling 
tear  from  their  wrinkled  faces  ;  the  young  men  stood  there 
in  deep  solemnity,  and  sighed  over  the  fair  one  now  pale 
in  death  ;  many  very  many  maidens  wept  over  betrayed 
and  blasted  innocence,  and  all  w^ere  melted  in  grief, 
when  the  shroud  hid  the  face  of  Naomi  forever. 

The  writer  knows  not  the  place  of  her  grave  else  would 
he  visit  that  lonely  placet  he  would  place  at  lier  head  a 
simple  stone,  to  tell  her  name,  her  excellence  and  her  ruin; 
he  w^ould  plant  tliere  appropriate  emblems,  and  drop  a 
tear  over  the  memory  of  her  who  sleeps  beneath.  * 

"Oh!  fair  as  the  wild  flower,  close  to  thee  growing, 
How  pure  was  thy  heart  till  love's  witchery  came. 
Like  the  wind  of  the  South  oe'r  a  summer  lute  blowing 
It  hushed  all  its  music  and  withered  its  fame. 
The  young  village  maid,  when  with  flowers  she  dresses 
Her  dark  flowing  hair  for  some  festival  day. 
Will  think  of  thy  fate  till  neglecting  her  tresses 
She  mournfully  turns  from  the  mirror  away." 


112  NAOMI    WISE. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Though  Lewis  was  coDiined  in  the  strong- jail,  that  then 
towered  in  Asheboro'  as  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  his  \vas  not 
the  character  to  yield  without  an  ettort ;  and  such  was  his 
strength,  skill  or  assistance,  that  he  soon  escaped.  He 
broke  jail  and  fled  to  parts  unknown.  Time  rolled  on, 
l^earing  upon  its  ever  changnig  surface  new  scenes,  ac- 
tions and  subjects  of  thought.  Xaomi  was  beginning  to 
iade  from  memory,  and  Lewis  was  scarcely  thought  of. 
The  whole  tragedy  would,  perhaps,  have  been  nearly  in 
the  sea  of  oblivion,  but  for  the  song  oi'''Owi  HYse,".  which 
was  sung  in  every  neighborhood.  At  length,  rumor,  the 
persecutor  and  avenger,  gave  tidings  that  Jonathan  Lewis 
was  living  at  the  tails  of  Ohio,  was  married,  had  one  child, 
and  considered  in  prosperous  circumstances.  The  mur- 
dered girl  ros'3  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Justice 
cried,  "cut  the  sinner  down."  Indignation  cried  shame 
to  the  lingering  servants  of  law.  Col.  Craven,  Col.  Lane 
and  George  Swearengain,  properly  commissioned,  started 
in  quest  of  the  criminal.  Many  were  the  sighs  and  ex- 
pressions of  anxieties  that  escaped  their  friends,  when 
tliese  worthy  citizens  departed.  All  were  aware  that 
the  enterprise  was  perilous.  Most  of  the  Lewis  family 
had  migrated  to  the  same  region,  and  one  Lewis  was  not 
trifled  with,  much  less  a  community  of  such  personages. 
But  brave  men,  especially  of  Kandolph  county,  sustain  ed 
])y  justice,  never  count  the  foe,  or  ask  a  parley.  Having  ar- 
rived in  the  neighborhood,  or  rather  in  the  country,  for 
they  were  yet  many  miles  from  Lewis'  home,  they  made 
inrpiiry  until  they  found  the  circumstances  and  position 
of  the  families.  Knowing,  that  if  they  appeared  in  person, 
their  object  would  be  defeated,  they  hired  two  sturdy  hun- 
ters for  a  fee  of  seventy  five  dollars,  to  take  Jonathan,  dead 
or  aiive,  and  deliver  him  at  a  certain  town.  "Xo  work, 
no  pay."  The  three  officers  went  to  the  town  to  await  the 
i^j'jue,  audit  it  failed,  to  collect  if  possible,  such  force  as 
might  be  necessary  to  w^age  civil  war  upon  the  whole  of- 
fending tribe. 

The  hunters,  unknown  to  the  Lewises,  having  arrived  in 
the  immediate  vincinity,  learned  that  a  great  daiice  was  to 
take  place  that  night  at  a  house  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
that  pU  the  Lewises  would  be  there.  They  concluded 
that  the  occasion  would  either  enable  them  to  execute  their 


NAOMI    WISE.  113 

object,  or  at  least  to  make  some  useful  observations;  they 
accordingly  rode  to  the  pia(.'e,  in  appearance  and  pi-olcssion 
two  wandering  backwoodsmen.  Arriving  at  tlie  rude 
fence  in  front  of  the  house,  and  seeing  a  considerable 
number  already  collected,  one  of  the  hunters  cried  : 

'•Hallo  to  the  man  of  the  house  and  all  his  friends.'* 

"Kallo  back  to  you,''  said  a  voice  within,  "and  maybe 
jou'd  light  and  look  at  your  saddle." 

"Apt  as  not,''  said  the  hunter,  "if  wer'e  allowed  to  see 
cur  Sriddles  on  the  peg,  our  horses  eatin"  todder,  and  our- 
selves merry  over  hog  and  hominy,' 

"Ef  you  are  what  you  look  like,"  said  the  landlord, 
stepping  into  the  yard,  "and  not  Yankee  speculators,  nor 
baud)oozled  otiicers,  nor  Natchez  sharpers,  you  are  wel- 
come tosich  as  we  have." 

"And  spose  vve  are  not  what  we  look  like,"  replied  the 
liunter'  'Svliatthen?" 

"Why'  the  sooner  you  move  yonr  washing,  the  better; 
vver'e  plain  honest  folks  here,  and  deal  witii  all  scatterlo- 
pers  arter  their  deserts.  ' 

"Well,  well,  we'll  light  and  take  some  of  your  pone  and 
a  little  of  your  blinkeye,  and  maybe  as  how  we'll  get  better 
{iccjuainted." 

feo  saying,  the  strangers  alighted,  and  having  seen  their 
horses  supplied  with  a  bountiful  quantity  of  provender, 
they  entered  the  house  and  mingled  with  the  guests  with- 
out exciting  suspicion  or  even  much  notice.  They  had 
previously  agreed,  that  <uie  should  do  the  ta1ki!)g,  lest 
they  might  commit  some  incongruities.  A  glance  con- 
vinced them  that  Jonathan  Lewis  was  not  there.  The 
guests  continued  to  assemble,  women,  men  and  children;  an 
old  wrinkled-faced  vajfabond  commenced  tuning  his  violin 
vAul  the  parties  were  arranginif  themselves  tor  the  dance, 
when  a  strong  powerful  man  entered.  His  hair  was  long, 
Inisby  and  matted  as  if  it  had  never  known  the  virtue  of  a 
comb:  his  eyebrows  were  dark  and  heavy;  his  step  wjs 
decided  and  tirm:  he  wore  a  belted  hunting  shirt  in  the 
l>and  of  which  hung  a  long,  double-edged  hunting  knife, 
and  under  its  folds  were  plainly  visible  two  heavy  pistols. 
His  keen  eje  detected  the  strangers  instantly,  and  forth- 
with he  sought  the  landlord  at  the  other  end  of  the  house, 
aind  engaged  him  for  a  time  in  whispers.  Our  huiiters 
knew  their  man,  and  watched  him  with  no  small  anxiety, 
nor  was  it  long  until  he  approached  them  and  said: 


114  KA03II    WISE. 

*'I  reckon  you're  Ptrtiiigers  in  tliese  parts." 

**I  reckon  we  arc  too,  being  we  knuw  nobody  and  no- 
body knows  ub  ;  and  we're  perlight  enough  not  to  trouble 
strangers  "VAitli  foolisb  questions,  and  so  I  guess  we  shall 
still  be  strangers." 

This  answei-  to  his  implied  cjuestion  evidently  displeas- 
ed the  interrogator;  after  eyeing  them  a  moment,  he  con- 
tinued, 

'^But  maybe  we  all  come  from  the  same  land,  and  so 
might  scrape  an  acquaintance  easier  than  you  ihink," 

^'As  to  that,  it's  no  difference,  without  telling  or  asking 
names,  Ave  give  the  right  hand  to  every  honest  hunter." 

**Then  you're  hunters,  I  spose,  and  avS  we  have  a  great 
deer  hunt  tomorrow^  perhaps  you'll  join." 

'That  we  will,  ef  its  agreeable." 

The  dance  passed  oif  without  anything  remarkable,  and 
early  next  morning  the  horns  were  soiinding,  the  dogs 
yelping  and  everything  alive  tor  the  hunt.  In  arranging 
the  couples  to  stand  at  the  crosses,  it  so  happened  "tha't 
Jonathan  and  our  talking  hunter  wxre  stationed  together, 
and  the  other  stranger  at  no  great  distance.  The  drivers 
had  departed,  and  the  marksmen  were  reclining  at  ease  or 
ftxamining  their  firelocks,  when  Jonathan  discovered  that 
he  had  no  powder.  As  it  would  probably  be  an  hour  or 
two  before  the  game  would  appear,  Lewis  proposed  to  his 
companion  that  they  should  go  to  the  village  and  supply 
themselves  with  powder.  They  liad  no  sooner  started, 
than  the  other  hunter  discovered  his  comrade  to  give  the 
signal,  he  accordingly  followed  at  some  distance  in  the 
rear.  Close  by  the  village  he  met  Lewis  and  his  compan- 
ion on  their  return.  The  hunters  exchanged  signs  and 
agreed  to  make  the  effort ;  they  were  fully  aware  "of  their 
peril  :  for  though  two  against  one,  they  knew  their  antag- 
onist to  be  much  more  powerful  than  either,  and  to  be 
well  armed.  The  hunter  that  met  them,  pretended  that 
he  had  become  alarmed  when  he  missed  them,  not  know^- 
ing  what  might  happen,  and  that  he  had  come  in  search; 
then  asking  about  the  powder,  requested  to  see  some. 
While  Lewis  was  pouring  some  into  his  hand,  the  other 
seized  him  from  behind  in  order  to  hold  his  hands  fast; 
while  the  front  man  grasping  bin)  by  the  legs,  endeavor- 
ed to  throw  him.  Like  a  second  Sampson,  Lewis  tore 
his  arms  from  the  grasp  of  the  hunter,  and  with  a  back- 
handed blow  sent  him  near  a  rod  backwards,  at  the  same 


NAOMI    WISE.  115 

time  kicking  down  the  man  that  was  before  him.  But 
Viefore  he  aoiM  level  his  gui>  the  iirst  hunter  gave  hiru 
8ueh  a  blow  with  the  barrel  oi:  his  gun  that  he  reeled  and 
fell ;  but  pointing  his  gun  as  the  second  hunter  canie,  lie 
would  have  shot  him  dead,  if  the  other  had  not  struck 
his  arm;  the  flash  ot  the  gun,  however,  set  lire  to  the 
powder,  that  in  the  melee,  had  been  spilled  upon  the  hun- 
ter's clothes  and  scorched  the  whole  company  not  a  little. 
Lewis  better  capable  of  enduring  such  catastrophes  than 
the  others,  taKing  advantage  of  the  confusion,  would  have 
made  his  escape, "had  nottiie  villagers  arrived  in  sufficient 
strength  to  overpower  him  by  force  of  numbers. 

Col.  Craven  and  his  companions  received  Lewis  bound 
with  strong  cords  and  immediately  started  for  Carolina, 
nor  did  they  travel  at  a  moderate  rate,  well  knowing  that 
if  the  Lewis  family  with  their  confederates  should  over- 
take'them,  death  would  be  the  fate  of  the  weaker  party  : 
nor  did  the  hunters  tarry  in  the  vicinity  but  hurried 
themselves  far  away  in  the  western  wilds.  After  Lewis 
found  that  further  resistance  would  be  useless  he  seemed 
to  submit  to  his  fate  and  became  tractable  and  social,  so 
much  so,  that  his  bonds  were  somewhat  slackened  and 
his  captivity  less  strict.  He  awakened  no  suspicion  by 
asking  theni  to  be  less  cautious,  and  seemed  so  mui^h 
more%ocial  than  they  had  ever  known  him,  that  his 
o-uards  were  almost  tempted  to  free  him  from  all  restraint. 
Oi\e  evening  while  indulging  their  glee  around  the  canip 
tire,  Lewis  unobserved'  untied  his  bonds,  and  springing 
up,'darted  off  with  the  agility  of  a  youth  Craven  ami 
Swearen^din  pursued,  but  Craven  wa-^  ere  long  left  some 
distance  "^in  the  rear.  They  were  now  in  a  low  bottom 
and  the  evening  had  so  far  ad  vanced  that  Swearengain ,  who 

was  close  in  pursuit,  could  only  see  Lewis  hy  the  white- 
ness of  his  clothes.  80  expert  was  Lewis  in  dodging  that 
he  constaiitly  eluded  the  grasp  of  his  pursuer  and  was 
now  within  a'  few  paces  of  a  dense  thicket,  Swearengam 
makino;  a  spring,  struck  Lewis  with  a  blow  so  eiiectual 
that  itlelled  him  to  the  earth,  and  before  he  could  regain 
his  feet,  he  was  overpowered  by  botli  of  his  pursuers.    ^ 

Lewis  was  finallv  brought  to  Randolph  from  which 
county  his  trial  v/a3^IlOvedlo  Guilford,  where  he  was  h- 
nally  tried  and  acquitted.  Most  of  the  material  witnesses 
had  died  or  moved  away  and  much  of  the  minut*,  was 
fbr^ottea.     After    his    release    he  returned  to  kentucrcy 


116  NAOMI    AVISE. 

and  died  in  a  few  years  afterwards.  After  all  liopes  oi' 
liis  recovery  was  o'iven  up,  and  bis  friends  watched  around 
his  couch  only  to  perioral  the  last  sad  offices  ot'lite,  he 
still  lingered,  lie  «-eemed  to  sutler  beyond  human  con- 
ception; the  contortions  of  his  face  were  too  horrid  for  hu- 
niau  gaze  ;  his  groans  were  appalling  to  the  ear.  For 
two  days  the  death  rattle  had  been  in  his  throat,  and  yet 
lie  retained  his  reason  and  speech.  Finally  he  hid  every 
person  leave  the  room  l)ut  his  lather,  and  to  liini  he  coJi- 
fcssed  all  the  circunistasices  we  have  detailed,  lie  declar- 
t'tlthat  while  in  prison,  ^Saomi  was  ever  befcu-e  him  ;  his 
sleep  was  l)roken  by  her  cries  for  mercy,  and  in  the  dim 
twilight  her  shadowy  form  was  ever  before  him,  holding 
up  her  imploring  han<is.  Thus  ended  the  career  ot  Jo- 
nathan Lewis,  tor  no  soorier  was  his  cont'essiijn  com[>leted 
than  liis  soul  seemed  to  basten  awav. 


The  following  is  the  song  so  well    known  in  this  county,  as 

POOR  NAOMI. 


Come  all  you  good  people,  I'd  ha'i'e  you  draw  near, 
A  sorrowful  story  you  quickly  shali  hear; 
A  j^tory  I'll  tell  you  abcut  iN'omi  \N  ise, 
How  she  was  deluded  by  Lewis'  lies. 

He  promised  to  n)arry  and  use  me  quite  well  ; 
P;ut  conduct  contrary    1  sadly  most  tell. 
He  promised  to  meet  me  at  Adams'  Springs, 
He  promised  me  marriage  and  many  tine  things. 

Still  nothing  he  gave  but  yet  flattered  the  case, 
He  says,  we'll  be  married  and  have  no  disgrace, 
Come  get  up  behind  me,  we'll  go  up  to  town. 
And  there  we'll  be  married,  in  union  be  bound. 

]  got  up  behind  him  and  straightway  did  go 

To  the  banks  of  13eep  river,  where  the  water  did  rtr)w 

He  says,  "Now,  Naomi,  I'll  tell  you  my  mind, 

I  intend  here  to  drown  you,  and  leave  you  behind." 

(>  I  pitv  your  itifant  and  spare  me  my  life  ; 
1  et  nie  go  rejected  and  not  be  your  wife. 
**No  pity,  no  pity."  this  monster  did  cry, 
"In  Deepriver's  bottom  your  body  shaillie." 

The  wretch  then  did  choke  her,  as  we  understan", 
And  threw  her  in  the  river,  below  the  miUdam. 
Ke  it  murder  vt  treason.  Oh  !  what  a  great  crime 
To  murder  poor  Naomi  and  leave  her  behind. 


NAOMI    WISE.  117 


Naomi  was  missing,  they  all  did  well  know, 
AnJ  hunting  f(;r  her  to  the  river  did  go  ; 
And  there  touud  her  floating  on  the  water  so  deei>, 
Which  caused  all  the  people  to  sigh  and  to  wtcp* 

The  neighbors  were  sent  for  to  see  the  great  sight, 
"While  she  lay  floating  all  that  long  night, 
So  early  next  morning  the  inquest  was  held, 
The  jury  correctly  the  murder  did  tell. 


IN'oTE. — It  is  siiid  that  in  the  dusk  of  evening,  the 
following  little  song  may  be  heard  about  ihe  river  in  ac- 
cents sweet  as  angels  sing  : 

Beneath  these  crystal  waters, 

A  maiden  once  did  lie, 
The  fairest  of  earth"s  daughters, 

A  gem  to  deck  the  sky. 

In  caves  of  pearled  enamel, 

We  weave  a  maiden's  shroud 
For  all  the  foolish  damsels, 

That  dare  to  stray  abroad. 

We  live  in  rolling  billows, 

We  float  upon  the  mist, 
We  sing  on  foaming  pillows  ; 

"Poor  Naomi  of  the  past." 


On  .Talv  7th,  1879,  Mr.  J.  B.  Randleman  and  the  pres- 
ent Naomi  Falls  Company  commenced  building  a  cotton 
factory,  which  to  day  stands  as  a  monnmeiit  oi  their  en- 
ergy and  enterprise.  There  is  now  a  beaurifnl  toAvn  of 
about  500  inhabitants,  and  the  hum  of  oOOO  spindles  and 
the  clash  of  164  looms  and  the  voices  of  22')  eiiijdoyees  is 
heard  within  less  than  200  yards  of  the  tbr«i  where  the 
tragedy  referred  to  in  this  book  was  enactcil.  This  place 
was  named  in  honor  of  Naomi,  who  was  buried  on  the 
plantation  upon  which  Calvin  Swim  now  lives,  in  sight 
of  Naomi  Falls  Factory.  The  spring  where  Naomi  met 
Lewis  and  mounted  his  horse  on  the  fatal  nighr,  is  now 
used  to  supply  water  for  the  New  Salem  Steam  Mill  and 
Tannery  Company  Mr.  J-  N.  Caudle's  hwn  now  stands 
?.bout  where  Mr.  Adams'  house  then  stoo(3. 


MUNUFSCTURING. 


THE    GEEAT    COTTON     MILLS    OF    RAN- 
DOLPH  COUNTY. 


A  Statistical  Record  and  Descriptive  Sketch  of 
the  Mills  and  their  Surroundings. , 


THE  XAOMI  COTTOX  MILLS, 
Kandleman,  N.  C. 

These  great  mills,  the  iiulustrial  moiuuneiit  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  beautiful  but  uiitortunate  Naomi  Wise,  wer-^ 
e-:^t.ablished  a  few  years  a^^-u  by  the  Xaoiiii  Falis  Maiiutae- 
turiug  Co.,  of  which  Mr.  ii.  l\  Dicks  is  treasurer  and  priii- 
cipal  owner  of  the  stock  represented,  which  is  about 
$180,000.  Miss  Mamie  Pomeroy,  than  whom  there  is 
perhaps  no  more  accurate  acountant  in  this  sunny  laud  of 
itowers  and  fair  women,  has  charge  of  the  company's 
books. 

Mr.  Dicks,  assisted  by  his  fair  book-keeper  has  tiie  gen- 
eral supervision  uf  every  detail  pertaining  to  the  uianage- 
ment  oi'  this  gigantic  enterprise.  He  is  a  siirewd  busi- 
ness man,  generous  and  kind  hearted  and  is  thoroughly 
posted  in  the  manutacture  vt  goods  in  his  line. 

Rev.  A.  Gregson,generai  superintendent  has  charge  of  all 
the  departments  managed  by  the  following  subordinates  ; 

Mr.  F.  C.  Furgerson,  manager  spinning  department : 
Mr.  J.  A.  Wright,  manager  weaving  department ;  Mr. 
Marsh  Hughes,  chief  engineer,  assisted  by  Mr  Dave 
Laughlin. 

These  gentlemen  have  charge  of  260  employees,  to 
whom  the  treasurer  pays  annually  about  |50.  000. 
There  are  5,000  spindles  and  226  looms,  all  of  which  are 
placed  in  one  grand  brick  structure  52x405  feet  in  dimen- 
MJOQS,  one  story  and  a  basement  the  same  length  and 
^idth.  This  great  building  has  a  metal  root,  in  the  centre 
or  which,  and  just  above  the  nixin  entrance,  there  is  a  cu- 
p  >ia  bearing  a  large  tank  tilled  with  crater  to   be    used  in 


He;- 

case  of  lire.  Tl.e  inilis  work  about  2,500  Imlcs  of  cott^ji 
per  year  from  which  the  5,000  s])iiKlles,  kept  constantly  at 
work,  produce  the  immense  quantity  of  1,000,000  pouinls 
of  warp  of  diii'erent  numbers,  annually.  A  large  porlion 
ofthis  IS  used  in  tlie  manufacture  of  about  400  styles  ot 
beautiful  plaids,  &e.,  and  the  remainder  is  converted  iiito 
excellent  grain  bags.  The  value  of  plaids  manufactured 
is  about  1^200,000',  and  that  of  bags  §50,000,  n)aking 
the  grand  total  of  $250,000  annual  businer^s. 

The  dimensions  of  the  principal  buildings  coinu  ctcd 
with  the  main  building  are  as  follows  :  Mana^-ed  by 
J.  li,  Wilson.  Dye  house  35x85,  Mana^ied  by  J.  E.  Mc- 
Laughen.  JJaling  iiouse  40x50,  iap[)er  house  35x50,  boil- 
er house  35x40,  e[)gine  house  20x30  feet. 

The  otiice,  one  of  the  finest  and  best  arranged  in  the 
State,  is  a  handsome  bricis:  bui.<ling  30x48  feet  in  dimen- 
sions, with  three  compartments  for  the  treasurer,  book 
keeper  and  superintendent  respectively. 

There  are  about  75  dwellings  occupied  by  the  employ- 
ees and  officers  ot  the  company,  the  most  beautiful  of 
which  is  the  mansion  occupied  by  the  treasurer.  This 
building    cost  $10,000. 

The  motive  power  of  the  mam motli  cotton  mill  des- 
cribed in  the  foregoing  sketch,  consists  of  one  150  il.  P. 
Harris  Oorless  engine  and  twi)  48  in,  Leliell  water  wheels. 
The  boiler  plant  consists  of  three  GO  li.  P.  return  tubular 
boilers  and  is  located  under  the  same  roof  with  the  en- 
gine. 

In  connection  with  the  manufacturing  business  the 
company  owns  a  large  store  which  is  managed  by  Mr.  W. 
J.  Glass,  assisted  by  Messrs  Steed  and  Lamb  as  salesmen. 
These  gentlemen  carry  an  elegant  line  of  general  mer 
chandiseand  sell  *50,000  worth  of  goods  an:iually.  The 
brick  building  occupied  is  30x115  in  dimensions,  two  story 
and  basement,  and  is  located  near  the  factory. 

Just  above  this  great  cotron  mill  and  in  the  town  of 
Randleman,  there  is  anotl^r  mammoth  mill,  located  on 
Deep  liiver,  which  is  the  pioneer  of  all  other  cotton  mills 
in  Kandolph  county.  . 

THE  RANDLEMAN  COTTON  MILLS 
Randleman  Manufacturing  Co.,  Prop's. 
These    loammoth   mflls   are   located    about  3  1-2  miles 


120 

from  Millboro,  tlie  present  terminus  of  the  braiicii  road 
intersecting  with  the  C.  F.  &  Y.  V.  Railroad  at  Factory 
Junction,  Mr.  John  H.  Ferree  is  the  principal  owner  of 
the  stock  representing  about  $200,000,  and  is  Treasurer  of 
the  Company  which  is  composed  of  the  following  per- 
sons. Messrs.  J.  H.  Ferree,  L.  li.  Weaver  and  Charley 
C.  Randleman,  Mr.  S.  G.  Newlin,  assisted  by^Mr.  J. 
T.  Millicau,  has  charge  of  the  books  and  is  assistant 
Treasurer.  Mr.  J.  O.  Pickard  ^s  the  general  superin- 
tendent and  has  served  in  that  capacity  for  a  number  of 
years. 

Mr.  Charley  Randleman  is  the  chief  manager  .of  the 
spinning  department.  This  young  man  is  a  son  of  the 
late  John  Randleman  who  was  at  his  death  one  of  the 
principal  owners  of  the  mill  bearing  his  name. 

Mr.  W.  T.  Furguson,  in  charge  of  the  beaming  de- 
partment, has  been  connected  with  the  mill  for  about  12 
years  and  will  have  served  the  company  14  years  on  the 
termination  of  his  present  contract. 

Mr.  M.  L.  Ellington,  assisted  by  Mr.  William  Ivey, 
controls  the  employees  of  the  weaving  department.  Mr. 
John  Clapp,  for  12  years  in  the  company's  employ,  has 
charge  of  the  two  large  dying  establishments.  The  bal- 
ing department  is  in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  E.  Hayworth,  a  gen- 
tlemaii  of  experience  and  for  a  long  time  connected  with 
the  mills.  Mr.  J.  A.  Myricks  is  chief  engineer  and  as- 
sistant superintendent,  assisted  by  Mr.  H.  II.  Nelson. 

Mr.  MjTicks  is  a  very  fine  engineer  as  will  be  proven 
by  the  engine  recently  set  up  by  him  which  is  so  nicely 
adjusted  that  a  nickle  coin  placed  edgewise  on  the  cylin- 
der head  will  not  jar  oil' when  tbe  engine  is  in  motion. 

The  number  of  employees  connected  with  these  great 
cotton  mills  is  245  to  whom  the  company  pays  the  hand- 
some sum  of  §44,824  per  annum. 

The  mills  consume  about  1,900  bales,  or  nearly  2,000,- 
000  pounds  of  cotton,  annually.  From  this  immense 
quantity  they  produce  about  800,000  lbs  warp,  running 
4,272  spindles,  222  looms  are  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  about  3,536,000  yards  of  over  700  difiei*ent  styles 
of   beautiful  plaids,  the  value  of  which  is  about  $247,520. 

The  machinery  named  above  is  placed  in  two  large 
buildings,  one  of  which  is  a  brick  building,  two  stories 
high,  40x100  feet  in  dimension,  with  a  wing  40x80   feet 


121 

oae  story.  The  other  is  a  wooden  l)uil(lino-  36x300 
feet  in  dimensions,  one  story. 

The  two  dye  houses  are  22x82  feet  each,  lapper  house 
40x50,  baling  house  35x70,  warpinu-  house  30x30,  two 
stories,  engine  and  boiler  houses,  each,  20x30,  and  a  large 
three  story  brick  building,  30x70  faat,  used  as  a  town 
hall.  On  the  first  floor  of  this  building,  an<l  in  the  rear, 
is  the  principal  office  of  the  company. 

The  motive  power  of  this  mill  consists  one  100  II.  P. 
Harris-Corles  engine,  and  tw^o  44  in.  and  one  40  in. 
Letfell  water  wheels,  w^orking  under  13  feet  head  of  water. 

The  boiler  plant  consists  of  two  75  H  P.,  and  one  60 
H.  P.  return  tubular  boilers,  manufactured  by  Talbott  & 
Sons,  Richmond,  Va. 

There  are  about  150  dwellings  including  the  handsome 
residences  occupied  by  the  proprietors  an.d  officers.  The 
value  of  the  whole  property  is  about  $200,000. 

There  are  about  300  dwellings  in  the  town  of  llandlemaii 
proper,  including  5  churches,  3  school  houses,  2  hotels,  10 
or  more  stores  and  sliops  1  tin  shop,  3  blac^ksmith  shops 
and  other  smaller  enterprises.  The  population  is  about 
2,000.  The  principal  store  is  'owned  by  the  Ran- 
dleman  Store  Co.  The  building  is  3  stories  high 
with  basement  and  is  about  40x1 30  feet  in  dimensions.The 
salesmen  are  Messrs.  N.  N.  and  J.  J.  Newlin,  andlL  D. 
Scarboro.  The  annual  sales  amount  to  something  near 
150,000,  which,  including  the  annual  s.nles  of  the  Naomi 
store,  the  Naomi  cotton  mills  and  Kandleman  cotton  mijl? 
amounts  to  the  immense  sum  of  $597,520  i)cr  annum. 
Both  the  above  mills  use  Electric  liirhts. 


^ 


